To his mother’s delight, Stigler initially trained as a priest but at the age of 17, after being caught in an amorous relationship with a brewmaster’s daughter, it was clear that the priesthood was not for Stigler. The glider was repaired and, undeterred, Stigler took his first flight. He burst into tears and embraced his son, apologizing profusely as he realized he had not added any counter balance weights to the glider to compensate for such a light pilot. Stigler Senior sprinted over to the crash site in panic, but found his son alive and well. In the summer of 1927, the young Franz Stigler took his first flight in a glider at the age of only 12.Īs his father watched in horror the glider pitched violently nose up and rocketed skyward before plummeting down and impacting with the ground. The two decided to start a gliding school for local children after saving up for plans for a Stamer Lippisch ‘Pupil’ glider, they supervised the building of the aircraft by local boys. He met Father Josef, a Catholic Priest who had flown fighters in the First World War. Idolising his father – a First World War reconnaissance pilot – the young Stigler went by his middle name of Franz.Īfter the war Stigler’s father had found work managing horses for an estate. Stigler recalled both of his parents with great affectation his mother was the disciplinarian and raised him with the same staunch Catholic ideals she held whilst his father was a little more relaxed and a gentle and affectionate man. Ludwig Franz Stigler was born in Regensburg on August 21st 1915, the younger of two sons of Franz Stigler. The two became friends and remained friends until Stigler's death in 2008.Bf 109 G-6, piloted by Franz Stigler escorting B-17, camouflage for Bf 109 by LoneWolfSones | Download Here In 1990, Brown sought out Stigler in order to thank him and eventually located him in Germany. Brown told his commanding officer, who decided to keep it secret. Stigler never spoke of this incident as he could have been court-martialled. First attempting to convince Brown to land in neutral Sweden, Stigler decided to escort the pilot to the UK, the country allied with America that Brown had taken off from. Later saying that "for me it would have been the same as shooting at a parachute", he decided to protect the defenceless plane from being attacked. On closer inspection, Stigler saw that Brown was the only living crewmember. Preparing to shoot it down, Stigler realised that the tail gunner was not preparing to shoot back and then noticed he was dead. He is best known for his actions on December 20 1943, when he came across a badly damaged American bomber piloted by Charlie Brown. One of his worst pupils was future flying ace Gerhard Barkhorn.Īs a member of the African fighter wing of the Luftwaffe, Stigler fought in both Europe and North Africa. In the 1930s Stigler was a flying instructor for Lufthansa, the largest airline in Germany and the second-largest airline in Europe. Stigler was interested in flying from the age of twelve, having started flying gliders in 1927. He is known for sparing an American pilot named Charlie Brown and helping him to return home. Ludwig Franz Stigler (AugMarch 22 2008) was a German fighter pilot and former flying instructor who fought in World War II.
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