“I didn’t have the heart to finish those brave men”.
Look carefully at the B-17 and note how shot up it is - one engine dead, tail, horizontal stabilizer and nose shot up.. It was ready to fall out of the sky. (This is a painting done by an artist from the description of both pilots many years later.) Then realize that there is a German ME-109 fighter flying next to it. Now read the story below. I think you'll be surprised ..
Charlie Brown was a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot with the 379th Bomber Group at
Kimbolton, England . His B-17 was called 'Ye Old Pub' and was in a terrible
state, having been hit by flak and fighters. The compass was damaged and they
were flying deeper over enemy territory instead of heading home to Kimbolton.
After flying the B-17 over an enemy airfield, a German pilot named Franz Stigler
was ordered to take off and shoot down the B-17. When he got near the B-17, he
could not believe his eyes. In his words, he 'had never seen a plane in such a
bad state'. The tail and rear section was severely damaged, and the tail gunner
wounded. The top gunner was all over the top of the fuselage. The nose was
smashed and there were holes everywhere.
Despite having ammunition, Franz flew to the side of the B-17 and looked at
Charlie Brown, the pilot. Brown was scared and struggling to control his damaged
and blood-stained plane.
BF-109 pilot Franz Stigler
B-17 pilot Charlie Brown
Aware that they had no idea where they were going, Franz waved at Charlie to
turn 180 degrees. Franz escorted and guided the stricken plane to, and slightly
over, the North Sea towards England . He then saluted Charlie Brown and turned
away, back to Europe . When Franz landed he told the CO that the plane had been
shot down over the sea, and never told the truth to anybody. Charlie Brown and
the remains of his crew told all at their briefing, but were ordered never to
talk about it.
More than 40 years later, Charlie Brown wanted to find the Luftwaffe pilot who
saved the crew. After years of research, Franz was found. He had never talked
about the incident, not even at post-war reunions.
They met in the USA at a 379th Bomber Group reunion, together with 25 people who
are alive now - all because Franz never fired his guns that day.
(L-R) German Ace Franz Stigler, artist Ernie Boyett, and B-17 pilot Charlie
Brown
When asked why he didn't shoot them down, Stigler later said, I didn't have
the heart to finish those brave men. I flew beside them for a long time. They
were trying desperately to get home and I was going to let them do that. I could
not have shot at them. It would have been the same as shooting at a man in a
parachute.
Both men died in 2008.
This story is true and verified.