The Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident happened on December 20, 1943, when German fighters severely damaged Charles “Charlie” Brown’s B-17 Flying Fortress (named “Ye Olde Pub”) following a successful bomb run on Bremen. Despite having the chance to bring down the damaged bomber, Luftwaffe pilot and ace Franz Stigler chose to let the crew return to their airfield in England for humanitarian reasons. The two pilots eventually crossed paths 40 years later after a thorough search by Charlie Brown, and the friendship they formed lasted until their deaths.
Pilots
Farm boy from West Virginia and 2nd Lt. Charlie Brown flew the B-17F for the 379th Bomber Group of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) at RAF Kimbolton in England. Franz Stigler, a veteran Luftwaffe fighter pilot from Bavaria who had previously flown for an airline, was a member of Jagdgeschwader 27 at the time and had amassed 22 victories. With one more enemy aircraft brought down, he would qualify for the coveted Knight’s Cross.
Bomb run
Brown’s B-17 started its 10-minute bomb run at 27,300 feet, in minus 60 °C of outside air. Accurate anti-aircraft fire damaged the bomber’s Plexiglas nose, disabled the number two engine, and further damaged the number four engine, which had to be throttled back to avoid overspeeding before the bomber released its bomb load. Due to the bomber’s slowing down from the damage, Brown was unable to stay with his formation and retreated as a straggler, where he would be subject to continuous enemy attacks.
Attacks by fighters
Brown’s B-17 was even more damaged than this one; the B-17 pictured was able to land with all their crew alive.Now, for more than ten minutes, more than a dozen enemy fighters—a mix of Bf-109s and FW-190s—attacked Brown’s lone B-17. Additionally, the number three engine, which could only produce half power, suffered damage (meaning the aircraft had at worst 40 percent of its total rated power available). Internal oxygen, hydraulic, and electrical systems of the bomber were also compromised. The bomber’s two dorsal turret guns and one of its three forward-firing nose guns were its sole remaining defensive armament (from eleven available). The majority of the crew were now injured (the tail gunner had died), and Brown had a shoulder injury.
When Brown ran out of oxygen, he passed out. When he awoke, the bomber was remarkably flying level at a height of about 1000 feet. He regained the controls and started the long journey home in the wrecked bomber.
Franz Stigler
Germans on the ground, including Franz Stigler, who was refueling and arming at an airfield, noticed Brown’s damaged bomber. He quickly accelerated in his Messerschmitt Bf-109 and caught up to Brown’s aircraft. Stigler was able to see the hurt and helpless crew clearly through the bomber’s damaged air frame. The crippled bomber was not attacked by Stigler, which surprised the American pilot.
During his time fighting in North Africa, Gustav Rödel recalled the advice of one of his commanding officers from the Jagdgeschwader 27: “You are fighter pilots first, last, always. If I ever hear of any of you shooting at someone in a parachute, I’ll shoot you myself.” Stigler later commented, “To me, it was just like they were in a parachute. I saw them and I couldn’t shoot them down.”
Stigler made two attempts to convince Brown to either land his aircraft at a German airfield and surrender or to make a U-turn and land in nearby neutral Sweden, where he and his crew would receive medical care but would also be interned and forced to sit out the rest of the war. Brown objected and carried on. Then Stigler flew close to Brown’s aircraft, escorting it until they reached the North Sea, and then he took off while saluting.
Landing
Brown was able to fly his aircraft the 250 miles across the North Sea and land it at RAF Seething, home of the 448th Bomb Group. He then told his officers about how a German pilot had let him go during the post-flight debriefing. In order to avoid creating a favorable impression of enemy pilots, he was instructed not to mention this to the other members of the unit. While Stigler was aware that a German pilot who spared the enemy while in battle risked execution, Brown remarked that “someone decided you can’t be human and be flying in a German cockpit.” Stigler kept the incident a secret from his commanding officers.
Lt. Brown went on to complete a combat tour.
Post-war and meeting of pilots
Charlie Brown returned to West Virginia after the war, attended college there, and then enlisted in the Air Force once more in 1949, serving there until 1965. Later, he traveled to Laos and Vietnam a lot while serving as a Foreign Service Officer for the State Department. But he decided to become an inventor in Miami in 1972, so he gave up his job as a government employee.
In 1953, Stigler moved to Canada and established a prosperous business.
Colonel Charlie Brown, who had just retired, was asked to give a speech in 1986 at the “Gathering of the Eagles,” a gathering of combat pilots. After being questioned about his most memorable missions from World War II, Brown took a moment to reflect and remembered the tale of Stigler’s escort and salute. Brown then made the decision to look for the unidentified German pilot.
Brown had spent four years looking in vain for American and West German Air Force records that might provide some insight into the identity of the other pilot, but he had not found much. Then he sent a letter to the newsletter of a group of combat pilots. Brown got a letter from Stigler, who was residing in Canada, a few months later. It declared, “I was the one. Stigler gave Brown all the information he needed to know to identify him as the German fighter pilot when they spoke on the phone about his plane, including the escort and salute.
Franz Stigler and Charlie Brown became close friends between 1990 and 2008, and they remained so until their deaths a few months apart in 2008.
Martin Couney, Saved Thousands of Premature Babies Wasn’t a Doctor at All
Martin Couney never qualified as a medical doctor. However, in the 1900s, he saved thousands of premature babies by exhibiting them in incubators at his Coney Island sideshow. Over the course of his career, he is said to have saved about 6,500 babies that had previously been written off by mainstream medicine.
Mario Segale, Developer Who Inspired Nintendo to Name Super Mario
Super Mario is named after real-life businessman Mario Segale, who was renting out a warehouse to Nintendo. After Nintendo fell far behind on rent, Segale did not evict them but gave them a second chance to come up with the money. Nintendo succeeded and named their main character after him.
Irena Sendler: woman who rescued Jews during holocaust
Irene Sendler was the Zegota resistance group's head of the children's department. She risked her life to smuggle children out of the Warsaw ghetto, place them with Polish families or orphanages, give each child a new identity, and keep records so that they could be returned to their families. In 1943, the Gestapo arrested and sentenced her to death, but she was rescued by Zegota.
Underground Railroad to Mexico freed thousands of slaves in 1829
Slavery was abolished in Mexico in 1829. Slaves were escaping to Mexico, and slaveholders in the US were aware of this. The US attempted to get Mexico to sign a fugitive slave treaty, which would have required Mexico to send back escaped slaves to the US. But, Mexico refused, arguing that slaves were free as soon as they set foot on Mexican soil.
Moondyne Joe: The story of Australia's most notorious prison escapee
A man named Joseph Bolitho Johns (A.K.A Moondyne Joe) broke out of Australian prisons so many times that the police were compelled to build a special cell just for him. He escaped from that as well.
how Ferris wheel invented
In 1891, Chicago challenged engineers to create a structure to surpass the Eiffel Tower for the World's Columbian Exposition. George Washington Gale Ferris jr. responded with the original Ferris Wheel, a giant rotating structure elevating visitors above the city. This invention became an iconic attraction at the fair.
The Mouth of Truth: Ancient Rome’s Legendary "Lie Detector" That Bit Off Hands
Discover the chilling legend of the Mouth of Truth (Bocca della Verità) in Ancient Rome—a massive carved stone face believed to bite off the hand of anyone who lied while inserting their hand into its gaping mouth. Uncover the truth behind its eerie reputation and how this ancient artifact became a symbol of honesty and fear.
Terry Fox, a 21-year-old one-legged cancer patient who ran 143 days before dying
Terry Fox was a 21-year-old one-legged cancer patient who ran 3,339 miles across Canada in 143 days before dying.
Medals of Friendship: The Enduring Olympic Story of 1936
At the 1936 Summer Olympics, two Japanese pole vaulters named Sueo Oe and Shuhei Nishida tied for second, but they declined to compete against each other. As a result, Nishida was awarded the silver medal and Oe won a bronze medal. Upon returning to Japan, the athletes had their medals cut in half and spliced together to create new "friendship medals," which were half silver and half bronze.
Hedy Lamarr, A Hollywood actress who also a mathematician and inventor
Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr was also a mathematician and the inventor of frequency hopping spread spectrum, a technology still used for bluetooth and wifi
Knockers-up: waking up the Industrial Britain's Workers in 1900-1941
Before alarm clocks were invented, there was a profession called a knocker-up, which involved going from client to client and tapping on their windows (or banging on their doors) with long sticks until they were awake. It lasted into the 1920s.
A Brief History of the PlayStation Gaming Console
Sony's PlayStation was never meant to be an actual product. Instead, it was intended to be a CD-ROM console that would support Nintendo games. However, when Nintendo backed out of the deal at the last minute, Sony went ahead and launched what soon became one of the most successful gaming consoles of all time.
The day Iceland's women went on strike
Icelandic women went on strike for equal rights on October 24, 1975. 90% of women walked out of their jobs and homes, effectively shutting down the entire country. The men were struggling to keep up. The following year, Parliament passed a law requiring equal pay. Iceland elected the world's first female President five years later. Iceland now has the highest gender equality rate in the world.
How did Howard Florey discover penicillin
Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming, but he never attempted to turn it into an antibiotic. It wasn't until ten years later that Howard Florey discovered Fleming's obscure paper and understood the mold's potential. Up to 200 million lives may have been saved as a result of Florey's work.
Philippines, the largest supplier of Nurses in the World
Philippines is the world’s largest supplier of nurses, supplying roughly 25% of all overseas nurses worldwide.
Nathan's Famous Doctor Stunt
When Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs first opened in 1916, the owner hired people to dress as doctors and eat hot dogs outside his shop, to convince people his hot dogs were healthy.
June and Jennifer Gibbons The silent twin who Only Spoke to Each Other
Identical twins June and Jennifer Gibbons were born on 11 April 1963 at a military hospital in Aden, Yemen where their father worked as part of the Royal Air Force.
The History Behind the “No One Dies Alone” Program
In 1986, while doing a night shift at the hospital, Sandra Clarke, a registered nurse, was asked by an elderly patient to stay. She promised to be back after checking on her other patients, but by the time she returned, the gentleman had passed away. Clarke became one of the key figures in launching No One Dies Alone, a program that allows volunteers to sit with terminal patients who have no one else.
Why This Belgian Bar Makes You Trade Your Shoe for a Beer
To prevent tourists from stealing their beer glasses, some bars in Belgium require people to hand over one of their shoes as a deposit which is then put in a basket and hung from the ceiling. These shoe baskets have also become an attraction.
The Baltic Way: the longest unbroken human chain in history
On August 23, 1989, about 2 million people from Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania formed a human chain that united all 3 countries to show the world their desire to escape the Soviet Union and the communism that brought only suffering and poverty. This power stretched 600 km.
How Dmitri Mendeleev Developed the periodic table of the elements
1850 Dmitri Mendeleev walked almost a thousand miles to Moscow so he could apply for the University of Moscow. Although he was not accepted, he walked to St. Petersburg where he was accepted, And with that education, he developed the the periodic table of the elements
The Bizarre (And Magical) Duel Between Chung Ling Soo And Ching Ling Foo
Ching Ling Foo and Chung Ling Soo were two magicians from the early 20th century who were bitter rivals. While Ching Ling Foo was genuinely Chinese, Chung Ling Soo was actually a New Yorker named William Robinson.
The Amazing Truth About The German U-Boat That Was Sunk By A Toilet
During WWII, a German captain and an engineer flushed the submarine's high-tech toilet incorrectly, causing the vessel to rapidly fill with water. British planes patrolling the sea attacked them as the submarine was brought to the surface. While many members of the crew were killed in the attack, the captain escaped!
The story of Bill Haast, who lived to be 100 despite his extensive snake venom injections
Bill Haast immunized himself by injecting snake venom into his blood for several years. He holds the Guinness World Record for surviving the most lethal snake bites, having been bitten over 172 times. Bill became known as "Snake Man" around the world and lived for over 100 years.
Marion Stokes recorded 30 years of television
Marion Stokes, a Philadelphia woman began taping whatever was on television in 1979 and didn’t stop until her death in 2012. The 71,000 VHS and Betamax tapes she made are the most complete collection preserving this era of TV. They are being digitized by the Internet Archive.
