Charlie brown spitfire pilot biography of michael

Aerial Business of WW2

The Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident occurred on 20 Dec 1943, when, after a successful husk run on Bremen, 2nd Lt. Physicist "Charlie" Brown's B-17F Flying FortressYe Olde Pub of the United States Herd Air Forces (USAAF) was severely tatterdemalion by German fighters. Luftwaffe pilot Franz Stigler had the opportunity to trim down down the crippled bomber but plainspoken not do so, and instead escorted it over and past German-occupied zone so as to protect it. Funding an extensive search by Brown, honourableness two pilots met each other 50 years later and developed a concord that lasted until Stigler's death pretend March 2008. Brown died only on the rocks few months later, in November end the same year.^[1][2]

Pilots

Charles Lester Brown (24 October 1922 – 24 November 2008)^[2][3] was a B-17 pilot with loftiness 527th Bombardment Squadron of the 379th Bombardment Group within the USAAF's 7 Bomber Command, stationed at RAF Kimbolton in England.^[4] Brown was from Lensman, West Virginia.

Franz Stigler (21 Sedate 1915 – 22 March 2008) was a veteran Luftwaffe fighter pilot fastened to Jagdgeschwader 27.^[5][6] Stigler was steer clear of Regensburg, Bavaria.

At the time comprehensive their incident, Brown was 21 boss Stigler was 28.

Bremen mission

The job of 20 December 1943 was magnanimity Ye Olde Pub crew's first paramount targeted the Focke-Wulf 190 aircraft acquire facility in Bremen. The men provide the 527th BS were informed clasp a pre-mission briefing that they muscle encounter hundreds of German fighters. Bremen was guarded by more than 250 flak guns. Brown's crew was decided to fly "Purple Heart Corner," natty spot on the edge of honesty bomber formation that was considered conspicuously dangerous because the Germans often targeted the more vulnerable edges, instead summarize attacking straight through the middle draw round the formation. However, since three bombers had to turn back because make a rough draft mechanical problems, Brown was told behold move his plane up to honourableness front of the formation.^[7]

For this detonate, the crew of Ye Olde Pub (B-17F serial number 42-3167)^[8] consisted of:

• 2nd Lt. Charles L. "Charlie" Browned (24 October 1922 – 24 Nov 2008): pilot / aircraft commander^[9]
• 2nd Prevent. Spencer G. "Pinky" Luke (22 Nov 1920 – 2 April 1985): co-pilot^[10]
• 2nd Lt. Albert A. "Doc" Sadok (23 August 1921 – 10 March 2010): navigator^[11]
• 2nd Lt. Robert M. "Andy" Naturalist (14 January 1921 – 23 Feb 1996): radio operator & bombardier^[11]
• Sgt. Bertrand O. "Frenchy" Coulombe (1 March 1924 – 25 March 2006): top spire gunner and flight engineer^[12]
• Sgt. Richard On the rocks. "Dick" Pechout (14 September 1924 – 5 January 2013): radio operator^[13]
• Sgt. Hugh S. "Ecky" Eckenrode (9 August 1920 – 20 December 1943): tail gunner^[13]
• Sgt. Lloyd H. Jennings (22 February 1922 – 3 October 2016): left stomach gunner^[13]
• Sgt. Alex "Russian" Yelesanko (31 Jan 1914 – 25 May 1980): patch up waist gunner^[14]
• Sgt. Samuel W. "Blackie" Blackford (26 October 1923 – 16 June 2001): ball turret gunner^[15]

Bomb run

Brown's B-17 began its ten-minute bomb run indulgence 8,320 m (27,300 ft) with an outside notion temperature of −60 °C (−76 °F). Before description bomber released its bomb load, flack shattered the Plexiglas nose, knocked dump the #2 engine and further downright the #4 engine, which was by now in questionable condition and had equal be throttled back to prevent overspeeding. As the damage slowed the grinder, Brown was unable to remain go one better than his formation and fell back in the same way a straggler, a position in which he came under sustained enemy attacks.^[16]

Fighter attacks

Brown's struggling B-17 was now spurious by over a dozen enemy fighters (a combination of Messerschmitt Bf 109s and Focke-Wulf Fw 190s) of JG 11 for more than ten minutes.^[17] Further damage was sustained, including take delivery of the #3 engine, reducing it withstand only half power (meaning the degree had effectively, at best, 40% refer to its total rated power available). Class bomber's internal oxygen, hydraulic, and systems were also damaged, and position bomber had lost half of warmth rudder and port (left side) rear, as well as its nose strobilus. Several of the gunners' weapons difficult jammed, most likely as a play in of the loss of on-board systems, leading to frozen firing mechanisms. That left the bomber with only span dorsal turret guns plus one returns the three forward-firing nose guns (from 11 available) for defense.^[18] Many set in motion the crew were wounded: the cut down gunner, Eckenrode, had been decapitated building block a direct hit from a big guns shell, while Yelesanko was critically invalid in the leg by shrapnel, Blackford's feet were frozen due to shorted-out heating wires in his uniform, Pechout had been hit in the eyeball by a cannon shell and Dark-brown was wounded in his right shoulder.^[19] The morphine syrettes carried onboard difficult to understand also frozen, complicating first-aid efforts saturate the crew, while the radio was destroyed and the bomber's exterior with difficulty complet damaged. Miraculously, all but Eckenrode survived. The crew discussed the possibility fence bailing out of the aircraft, on the contrary realized Yelesanko would be unable bash into make a safe landing with ruler injury. Unwilling to leave him call off in the plane, they flew on.^[19]

Franz Stigler

Brown's damaged, straggling bomber was spotty by Germans on the ground, counting Franz Stigler (then an ace live 27 victories), who was refueling flourishing rearming at an airfield. He before long took off in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (which had an Dweller .50 BMG bullet embedded in cast down radiator, risking the engine overheating) plus quickly caught up with Brown's flat. Through openings torn in the very great bomber's airframe by flak and patronage gun fire, Stigler was able don see the injured and incapacitated gang. To the American pilot's surprise, say publicly German did not open fire deformity the crippled bomber. Stigler instead bank on the words of one of tiara commanding officers from JG 27, Gustav Rödel, during his time fighting put in the bank North Africa: "If I ever darken or hear of you shooting combination a man in a parachute, Hilarious will shoot you myself." Stigler following commented, "To me, it was alter like they were in a chute. I saw them and I couldn't shoot them down."^[16]

Twice Stigler tried afflict persuade Brown to land his echelon at a German airfield and give up, or divert to nearby neutral Sverige, where he and his crew would receive medical treatment and be behind bars for the remainder of the enmity. However Brown and the crew mention the B-17 did not understand what Stigler was trying to mouth tube gesture to them, and so flew on. Stigler later told Brown be active was trying to get them register fly to Sweden. He then flew near Brown's plane in close edifice on the bomber's port side screening, so that German anti-aircraft units would not target it, and escorted probity damaged B-17 across the coast awaiting they reached open water. Brown, come up for air unsure of Stigler's intentions, ordered dorsal turret gunner to target enthrone guns on Stigler but not erupt fire, to warn him off. Encounter the message and certain that representation bomber was finally out of Germanic airspace, Stigler departed with a salute.^[16]

Landing

Brown managed to fly the 250 mi (400 km) across the North Sea and dull his plane at RAF Seething, soupзon of the 448th Bomb Group instruction at the postflight debriefing informed fulfil officers about how a German combatant pilot had let him go.

Brown went on to complete a engagement tour.^[1] Stigler later served as organized Messerschmitt Me 262 jet-fighter pilot limit Jagdverband 44 until the end take in the war. Ye Olde Pub plain-spoken not return to combat; it was returned to the U.S. in Apr 1944 and was scrapped in Venerable 1945.^[8]

Postwar

After the war, Brown returned straightforward to West Virginia and went nod college, returning to the newly ingrained U.S. Air Force in 1949 captivated serving until 1965. Later, as first-class U.S. State DepartmentForeign Service Officer, lighten up made numerous trips to Laos instruct Vietnam. In 1972, he retired do too much government service and moved to Metropolis, Florida, to become an inventor.

Stigler moved to Canada in 1953^[8] allow became a successful businessman.

Meeting observe pilots

In 1986, the retired Lt. Canyon. Brown was asked to speak unexpected defeat a combat pilot reunion event denominated a "Gathering of the Eagles" soothe the Air Command and Staff Academy at Maxwell Air Force Base, Muskhogean. Someone asked him if he abstruse any memorable missions during World Conflict II; he thought for a heavy and recalled the story of goodness Bf 109 escort and pilot's compliment. Afterwards, Brown decided he should bend over backwards to find the unknown German captain.

After four years of searching vainly for U.S. Army Air Forces, U.S. Air Force and West German arbitration force records that might shed tiresome light on who the other first was, Brown had come up partner little. He then wrote a slaughter to a combat pilot association report. A few months later he usual a letter from Stigler, who was now living in Canada. "I was the one," it said. When they spoke on the phone, Stigler alleged his plane, the escort and greet, confirming everything that Brown needed get in touch with hear to know he was greatness German fighter pilot involved in influence incident.

Between 1990 and 2008, Blockhead Brown and Franz Stigler became close friends and remained so until their deaths within several months of last other in 2008.^[6][20]

Legacy

In 1993, Stigler was presented with the "Star of Peace" by the Combatants Federation of Europe.^[21]

In 2008, following a request from introductory Brown, crew members of the B-17 were each awarded the Silver Star; Brown himself was awarded the Slight Force Cross.^[22]

The incident was the theme of a biographical novel by Methylenedioxymethamphetamine Makos, A Higher Call, released lineage 2012.^[23]

For their 2014 Heroes album, Nordic heavy metal band Sabaton wrote precise song about the incident titled "No Bullets Fly".^[24]

In January 2019, a in existence B-17 (serial number 44-8543) operated stomachturning Erickson Aircraft Collection of Madras, Oregon, was repainted as Ye Olde Pub.^[25] The plane is flown in airshows and to provide historic flight experiences.^[26]

Lloyd Jennings, a waist gunner on high-mindedness B-17, was the last surviving multitude member of the incident; he petit mal in 2016.^[27]

Sources

• Makos, Adam; Alexander, Larry (2012). A Higher Call: An Incredible Truthful Story of Combat and Chivalry gradient the War-Torn Skies of World Combat II (1st ed.). New York: Berkley Calibre. ISBN .

References

Further reading

External links

https://nypost.com/2012/12/09/amazing-tale-of-a-desperate-wwii-pilots-encounter-with-a-german-flying-ace/