When a Bf-109 Spared A Wrecked B-17
Franz Stigler never thought he would be making this decision. On the 20th of December, 1943, Stigler - a German fighter pilot - intercepted an American B-17 Flying Fortress. As he drew closer, he noticed something was wrong. The crew were all injured and oxygen-starved, and the airplane was wrecked. Instead of shooting down the bomber, he escorted it over Germany. He recalled the words of one of his commanding officers -
"If I ever see or hear of you shooting at a man in his parachute, I will shoot you myself."
To him, shooting down the wrecked B-17 was the same as shooting down a man in his parachute.
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