During World War II, the warring sides arguably killed the red eye, whether on land, in the sky, or in the vast Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Allies and Axis powers were engaged in a deadly contest. This is the task of soldiers in the war years, but in the cruel war, there are still touching scenes.
Today we are going to introduce a German pilot who escorted American bombers. His name was Franz Stigler. Franz was a veteran pilot who had shot down 27 Allied fighters during World War II, one step away from receiving the Knight's Cross of the German Air Force. However, in the face of an injured American bomber, he did not choose to shoot down, but escorted. What's going on?
This happened in December 1943, when the US 379th bombing crew bombed German Bremen, but at that time German anti-aircraft fire was still very strong, and one of the bombers' B-17f long-range bombers named "Old Bar" was hit by German anti-aircraft fire, and chased several German fighters behind them, frantically pursuing the B-17f.
The B-17f was badly damaged and was about to crash before the German fighters stopped pursuing. Piloting the "Old Bar" was American pilot Charlie Brown, who continued to fly toward England with hope. At this point, Charlie Brown discovered the desperate fact that a German BF-109 bomber had appeared in the clouds ahead. However, the bomber did not attack the "old bar", but began to escort it, protecting it from German fighters.
In the end, the "Old Bar" successfully left german airspace and returned to the arms of the Allies. Charlie Brown was very puzzled by this, but when he reported the matter to his superiors, he was explicitly forbidden to spread the matter. It wasn't until after World War II that Charlie Brown found the German pilot who escorted him, and he was Franz.
Franz himself was a lover of peace, and after the defeat of the German army, he settled in various countries and became a famous small businessman. The two old men did not meet again until 1990 to reminisce about history together. What do you think?