dr greg
One Too Many
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I was sent this recently: with accompanying pics, but they could have been from anywhere:
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 during its mission was now in a terrible state, having been hit by flak and German fighters. The compass was severely damaged and they were flying deeper over enemy territory instead of heading home to their base in Kimbolton.
After flying over an enemy airfield, a German pilot named Franz Steigler was ordered to take off and shoot down the crippled and now mostly defenseless B-17. But 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, one engine shot out of service, and there were holes everywhere.
Despite having plenty of ammunition, Franz flew to the side of the B-17 and looked at fellow pilot Charlie Brown. Brown, the typical young Yank pilot, was scared and desperately struggling to control his severely damaged and blood-stained Flying Fortress.
Aware that the B-17 had no idea where they were going, Franz waved at Charlie to turn 180 degrees. Franz then escorted and guided the stricken plane to, and slightly over the North Sea towards England. He then saluted Charlie Brown .and then turned away, back to Europe.
When the German pilot Franz landed, he told the base c/o that the B-17 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 then ordered never to talk about it while the war was in progress.
More than 40 years later, Charlie Brown wanted to find the Luftwaffe pilot who saved the crew, and after years of research, Franz was found. He also 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.
Research shows that Charlie Brown lived in Seattle and Franz Steigler had moved to Vancouver, BC after the war. When they finally met, they discovered they had lived less than 200 miles apart for the past 50 years!!
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 during its mission was now in a terrible state, having been hit by flak and German fighters. The compass was severely damaged and they were flying deeper over enemy territory instead of heading home to their base in Kimbolton.
After flying over an enemy airfield, a German pilot named Franz Steigler was ordered to take off and shoot down the crippled and now mostly defenseless B-17. But 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, one engine shot out of service, and there were holes everywhere.
Despite having plenty of ammunition, Franz flew to the side of the B-17 and looked at fellow pilot Charlie Brown. Brown, the typical young Yank pilot, was scared and desperately struggling to control his severely damaged and blood-stained Flying Fortress.
Aware that the B-17 had no idea where they were going, Franz waved at Charlie to turn 180 degrees. Franz then escorted and guided the stricken plane to, and slightly over the North Sea towards England. He then saluted Charlie Brown .and then turned away, back to Europe.
When the German pilot Franz landed, he told the base c/o that the B-17 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 then ordered never to talk about it while the war was in progress.
More than 40 years later, Charlie Brown wanted to find the Luftwaffe pilot who saved the crew, and after years of research, Franz was found. He also 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.
Research shows that Charlie Brown lived in Seattle and Franz Steigler had moved to Vancouver, BC after the war. When they finally met, they discovered they had lived less than 200 miles apart for the past 50 years!!