Great video Rex. It reminded me of an encounter my grandfather and I once had with a German pilot. Back in the mid 70's, when I was about 11, we stopped along the highway to look at a B-17G on display next to a local airfield. There was another gentleman there, alone. After a short while he and my grandfather began a conversation. It turned out that he was a fighter pilot during the war. He recalled a time during a bomber intercept mission he found himself on the tail of a bomber at close range. Before he could opened fire, he made eye contact with the tail gunner. He said they both froze, staring at each other. Neither could fire on the other. After a few moments he saluted the gunner and peeled away. I remember he said that he was travelling, saw the bomber and stopped to look. I remember he was choked up as he told us the story. As so often recounted, when in aerial combat you are firing on a machine, with no thought to the human contents. He said after making eye contact, it became a plane filled with people. There were surely other stories like this. Thanks for your channel. I recently came across it and subscribed. Very well done.
I really do recommend the book. It's a truly heart warming story with it's share of tragedy and sadness. Not to mention the song No Bullets Fly by Sabaton.
Thank you for bringing up that song! My son's been raving about Sabaton for months but couldn't really relate to the ones he brought up. I loved No Bullets Fly; Then I saw Aces in Exile & gave that a listen. Both of them were excellent songs! I had one minor grumble to make about Aces in Exile, regarding the RCAF's contributions to the Battle of Britain, when it would've been more appropriate to bring up the Belgian 349th or 350th. (The Canadians weren't in exile, after all, nor were they seeking revenge; They responded to the call of duty to the Commonwealth.)
My dad played Taps in Wisconsin for any vet who died. Including Germans. He had great respect for any Word War 2 Vet. My dad died 3 months ago. I'm very proud of him. He respected any soldier who was worthy.. no matter what..
I'm glad they were able to meet after the war. Sometimes stories like this happen in war and each person is left with it until their death. Rarely are they able to meet and talk about their experiences. This is honestly one of my favorite stories
"From down below an enemy spotted So hurry up, rearm and refuel But through the bomber’s damaged airframe See wounded men, scared to their bone Look to the right and then look again And see the enemy in the eye No bullets fly, spared by his mercy Escorted out, out of harms way Fly, fighting fair, it’s the code of the air Brothers, heroes, foes Killing machine Honour in the skies B17 Flying home Killing machine Said goodbye to the cross he deserved He risked his life two times that day To save an unknown enemy Escort to safety, out of the killzone A short salute, then departed" -Sabaton, No Bullets Fly.
One of my Dad's Best Friend Eddie Iantosca.From Boston. Got Shot Down Over Bremen in 1943.He was A POW. HE PROBABLY WAS ON THIS MISSION HE WAS IN H BOMBER GROUP.HE WAS THE GREATEST PERSON GOD EVER PUT ON THIS 🌎EARTH I LOVE YOU EDDIE THANKYOU ❤💙FOR YOUR SERVICE AND FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID FOR ME AND THE UNITED STATES OF 🇺🇸AMERICA
I think God held a special place in heaven for that German pilot. What an incredible story. I wish there were more people in the world like Franz. May he rest in peace.
@@JohnnyWhytetrash Get your facts straight before you start spouting nonsense. Franz Stigler was a German fighting for the German people. Similar to many other Luftwaffe pilots, he did not join the Nazi party and had a general hatred for the Nazi party. Read a book.
@@JohnnyWhytetrash As your name implies,you really rose up to your name's level. Ever heard of loxism,the hatred of "your chosen" people against the rest of the world? Ever read their books,where they call us dogs, cattle and promote all kind of degeneracy? Do you care to say who was behind communism,you subverter? Spare us the sanctimonious defence of the most hateful and psychopathic group of people in the history of mankind.
One of my close family member was a former German Luftwaffe ace pilot. I never understood how big he was until later in my life. He has a lot of stories to tell. These men really were larger than life. Thanks for telling their stories.
Apart from my sister's constant advise, this is the most inspiring WWII event that has also made me sealed my decision to not pursue my airforce career despite I have already passed.. Perhaps this is God's answer to my prayer, "Fly without hurting anyone..." As long as I have my wings, I'm contended with that... I'm almost there...☺
Man i just love this one its such a classic! I consider it the mini ww2 version of the christmass truce, a day when when both sides realised that there was something more important than the orders of their higher-ups. A day when they realised that the "enemy" was no difrent then themselves and their brothers. Their message at 8:56 really reminds me of a quote by Stanislav Petrov (who literally saved the world and eventually had a documentary film made about that --> ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8TNdihbV5go.html and in the film he said "The best way to destroy an enemy, is to make him a friend". If there's going to be another big war i really hope there'll be another christmass truce
Actually Franz was within his rights to shoot the B 17 down as they dd not surrender. I know I sound ruthless here but total war is serious business and that B 17 crew did make it back to England and would have been available to continue bombing targets in Germany. That would not have been the case if the B 17 had been shot down.
i just stumbled on this video and this story made my day. So nicely told and so neatly composed with films and fotos. (Sorry if the words is not accurate, I’m from Sweden)
A 21yo captain as a pilot of one of these?! Damn, different time... I envy those men eventho their lives were at stake at every moment...I mean, just... Wow!
Stigler tried to point the B-17's pilot toward Sweden. When that failed he left them to their fate. He showed compassion to the crew of an aircraft he was sure was too damaged to make it back to England.
Not "quite left them to their fate". He escorted it to the channel, as he wanted to avoid the damaged B.17 being shot down by ground fire and thought they would be safe if it appeared that the USAAF plane was being escorted (somewhere).. He then turned and went back to his base, while the B.17 went on to land back in England.
The powers at be don't want us to realize that we are all the same. We are one. We are love. They will lose power and money when they don't have anyone to believe their lies.
Even absolute evil cannot snuff out the light. As the host mentioned 'Humanity at it's best in a time of caos." It's such a shame Charlie and Franzs exploits are not enough to stop the same mistakes being made over and over again. RIP Charlie and Franz.
I couldnt imagine how surreal it would be for a german pilot to be looking upon such a damaged plane, seeing people, helpless. The whims of his leaders would be to shoot the plane down, yet his conscience knew better. He saw it for what it was, humans clinging to life. Imagine the terror, being in a plane in such bad shape, in an area where people are trying to shoot you down, and you see this german aircraft flying beside you. not knowing if they are taunting you, about to fly off and shoot you out of the sky or what. Incredibly scary stuff.
What a great story... but tbh: as I'm lying in my bed here in Bremen, in an street that was heavily bombed during those raids... it feels also a bit eerie to me.
People can also check out the animated music video tribute about this event called " No Bullets Fly" by Sabaton. It's part music video and part animated documentary. Watch to the end. If you don't at least have a lump in your throat at the end you might need to check your humanity and pulse. It's an amazing story.
this is a story about respect between pilots / airmen. As his commanding officer (if he'd knew about) I would have put Stigler on the list to be rewarded the Iron Cross 1st class ! Don't matter how Goering or the Führer would have reacted
I wonder if you might have an interest in doing a piece on one of those overlooked heroes of WW2, a pilot who died on the sadly essentially needed blackout patrol, F/Lt. John McCulloch Middlemore Hughes, quote from a website called "Battle of Britain London Monument" below, "John McCulloch Middlemore Hughes was born at Bromsgrove, Worcestershire on 13th February 1917. He was at Haileybury College from 1930 to 1934 and entered the RAF College Cranwell in September 1935 as a Flight Cadet. After graduation in July 1937, he joined 218 Squadron, operating Fairey Battles at Boscombe Down. The squadron flew to France on 2nd September 1939, as part of the AASF. In the fighting in May 1940 Hughes led many bombing raids on German troops and lines of communication. In one operation he was attacked by Me109's and by skilful manoeuvring Hughes enabled his gunner to shoot one down. He was awarded the DFC (gazetted 21st June 1940). In August 1940 Hughes, in answer to a call for pilots to replace those lost in action, volunteered for Fighter Command. On 3rd September he was posted to the Radio Servicing Flight at Biggin Hill but on the 26th he was posted to 25 Squadron at North Weald, as a Flight Commander. In the evening of 7th December 1940 Hughes was detailed to check the blackout over Peterborough in Blenheim L1235. During the patrol the weather deteriorated and a bad storm developed. Control of the aircraft was lost and it came down near the village of Elton in Huntingdonshire (now Cambridgeshire). Hughes and the gunner, Sgt. JR Friend, were both killed and the radar operator, Sgt. FB Blenkharn, was seriously injured. Hughes is buried in Chilworth churchyard, Hampshire." Edit, More info., his grandfather was Birmingham MP Sir John Middlemore, his grand uncle was Thomas Middlemore, who retiired to Melsetter House, Orkney, this was used as Admiralty Headquarters during WW2, near Scapa Flow, also, Austin Motors who built Lancasters in WW2, the land for the worker's village was bought from Thomas Middlemore.
Pretty sad their chain of command handled it like " so what you did your job" then it took like 65 years for proper recognition, crazy how war can be at times wow!
a time when the older term 'knights of the air' really did apply. The american crew was also told not to tell anyone so that word didn't get out to germany-it would have bene a poor repayument of the debt they owed him to get him shot.
In China there is a popular net media call Little Red Book that is similar to TikTok, on which I posted this story. My post was sentenced rule violating and deleted by the Little Red Book. I have no idea what is wrong with such great story of humanity.
I am reminded of Werner Hartenstein of U156 who upon realizing his target was a liner and not a troop ship engaged in a rescue of survivors. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconia_incident
Acaba de tirar 5 toneladas de bombas sobre su ciudad, matando civiles indefensos, tal ves mataron a su madre o sus parientes, abuelos, mujeres y niños, y decide protejerllos, qué historia tan estúpida a menos que fuera un traidor protegiendo a los verdugos de civiles.
War is death of people on an industrial scale, thousands dying. The German pilot saw an opportunity to save a few and tried to grasp it. It is human nature. People try to seek a balance to cope with the horror of war. You can see similar examples in any war. People are people. If you can show mercy and kindness, even for a moment in a violent war, it will help your soul greatly.
Franz was a follower of Jesus Christ. His family hobby was gliders. He was an early postal flyer and the Germans had him map air routes prior to the war. He was deeply troubled as to why Christian nations would war against one another. He fought because Belgium was being attacked by the Allies. His and Brown's faiths surfaced as guiding foundations. There were plenty of air tales as well as history. For instance, though a brilliant politician, the head of the German air command, Goering, was not well respected as a leader by the pilots. Great read.
Always heard about this one but thanks for posting it up , if it brought a lump to your throat an a tear in your eye , like Me then thats because its a story that hits the mark..great vid.
how we won the war without any social justice warriors helping our toxic males and cis gendered housewives to recognise their privilege is beyond me..lets face it our armed forces and civilian workforce were prime examples of "patriarchy" and "class" discrimination with an agenda of antifeminism and sexual diversity.. i for one am grateful that nowadays my bisexual mixed race vegitarian trans climate activist neighbour is free from any discrimination and forced social behaviour.... and the irony of that is sadly totally lost on him/her and such like.. respect and thanks to all who fought,suffered and died in this ,and our allies, countrys freedom..
Iam suprised that in an american video, they always refer to him as german, not a Nazi-Pilot. Iam happily suprised. Apart of the SS. The Soldiers were mostly just... Soldiers. Not Nazis.
The hell it was. This encounter is remarkable *because* it was a rarity. It happened because one man had a moment of humanity and *ignored* his orders and rules of engagement.
Franz was chivalrous but foolish... That crew after it returned to England boarded another aircraft and a few days later was back over Germany dropping bombs. How many Germans died because of Franz’s decision? Bad call!
This^^ is what living without an adequate understanding of honour, some would say without a soul, looks like. It's a pointless, remark since there were thousands of other pilots like Franz who were already going to be in planes dropping ordnance on Germany anyway, so Franz has nothing to answer for regarding that decision. And besides, killing helpless soldiers, or soldiers/combatants who're unable to defend themselves has historically been frowned upon by militaries around the planets since it generally encourages further retaliatory actions and it shows a lack of understanding of the chivalrous culture that still permeated the air forces of the day.
The B17 was crippled and the crew was in danger of dying in a crash. From reading the book, Stigler was not convinced they made it to England. He did try to find out what happened to them but it was not until he saw an notice in a German veteran's magazine that he knew they made it back. Adolf Galland later ask Stigler if he was the one which Stigler confirmed. Galland commend Stigler for making the correct decision to spare the lives of the crew.
From down below an enemy spotted so hurry up rearm and refuel but through the bomber’s damaged airframe see wounded men scared to the bone look to the right then look again and see the enemy in the eye no bullets fly spared by his mercy escorted out out of harm’s way fly fighting fair is the code of the air brothers heroes foes killing machine honor in the sky B-17 flying home killing machine said goodbye to the cross he deserved killing machine honor in the sky B-17 flying home killing machine said goodbye to the cross he deserved *epic guitar solo* he risked his life two times that day to save an unknown enemy Escorted to safety, out of the killzone saluted then departed fly, fighting fair is the code of the air brothers heroes foes killing machine honor in the sky B-17 flying home killing machine said goodbye to the cross he deserved killing machine honor in the sky B-17 flying home killing machine said goodbye to the cross he deserved *epic guitar solo to closeout*
Please stop making things up, and if you do check the fact first. Bremen is not deep inside Germany it is just 55 Miles from the sea and it wasn't defended by hundreds of Flak batteries. At its peak German Air Defence had just 2500 batteries (8,8) scattered over hole Germany.
"and it wasn't defended by hundreds of Flak batteries. At its peak German Air Defence had just 2500 batteries (8,8) scattered over hole Germany" Um, you do realize that the Germans had other Flak guns than the 88mm, right?
@@michaelt.5672 Yes you are correct, but this doesn't change the numbers mutch. When it comes to the air defence of Germany itself we mainly talk about high altitude (heavy) AA guns to fight high flying bombers. There are only three models of heavy German AA guns 12,8 (apx. 1200 build ), 10.5 (apx. 2600 build) and the 8.8 (over 20000 build as Flak). I thought the 2500 batteries (10800 guns) only included 8.8, but it looks like the number include the all in Germany used heavy AA guns. But even if every anytime build 12.8 and 10.5 were in use in Germany in August 1944, this only would be additional 950 batteries. However Bremen wasn't defended by hundreds of Flak batteries not 1943 nor in August 1944.
@@pogonator1 From what I can tell, the phrase "hundrets of flak batteries" seems to be drawn from the book about this incident, as I've seen the figure of 250 flak guns elsewhere where "A Higher Call" is also referenced as a source. Though I haven't read the book yet myself, so take that with a grain of salt. But if I am correct, then even if you are right, you have no reason to accuse Rex of making things up. One can argue about how that number came about (and just for the record: He cites 100% more sources for his claims than you do, even if it's a secondary source), but fact is, it's drawn from a generally accepted source.
@@michaelt.5672 Is the Bremen deep into Germany thing also in the book? If yes, I must apologise for the "making things up", but he didn't checked the facts twice. Where he cites sources? There are no sources mentioned it the videos footer, and once mentioning a book in the video is not how scientific source citing works. And I only wrote a comment and did not release a video over a historic event. By the way, external links in comments did not work in RU-vid comments any more. And the sources I used are all in German and wouldn't help the majority of viewers anyway. It looks like nor Adam Makos or Larry Alexander has studied history or any kind of university degree (Wikipedia). So to call there book a "generally accepted source" is a little sketchy 🤣 From Bremen to the coast to flows the wide Weser river. It was a good navigational aide to RAF night operation. And I assume they had a lot of AA guns right and left from the Weser. You must be careful when a German source talks of Bremen. There is the "State of Bremen" which include the City of Bremerhaven (at the Coast), the City of Bremen and hole area at the Weser in between . 250 heavy AA Guns is the State of Bremen in the range what I would assume.
@@pogonator1 I'm fully aware of where Bremen is. Which is why I never challenged that part of your comment. But even there, you are turning the correction of a factual error into an accusation of fabrication. Getting something wrong is very different from making something up. And no, mentioning a book is not how scientific quotation works. But it does not require link posting either. So the point still stands, because even now, I have a better idea of where Rex got his information than where you got yours, which is the point of source citing. As for the authors credibility: Irrelevant to whether the contents of their book are correct or not. I'm not saying they are, but an ad hominem attack certainly isn't going to prove them wrong. And calling it a generally accepted source is acknowledging reality: Its a book drawn directly from the first hand accounts of both pilots.
the y looking symbol is called a ploub or something and it represents the TH sound. it was done to make speaking words easier. so technically it was still The old pub not ye old.
