B-17 saved by Luftwaffe pilot

[Njaco]

From Walter Stengel, JG 51....

"....During the Weimar period, I had been unemployed but I was very interested in sport flying. The National Socialist Party had no involvement in this activity during that time. When war came, we fought for the Fatherland, not the Fuhrer....."

[seesul]

Originally Posted by Ramirezzz

I'm not arguing that. I'm talking rather about the supposed chivalry of the German wehrmacht or any armed force in the WW2. Such cases like that were rather exceptions to the rule in that war. At least on the Eastern front, where both sides shot at the pilots who bailed out of their planes .

Gotta agree in this point that such a cases were exceptions. When I spoke to Willi Reschke he told me that in his units JG301/302 was an unwritten rule that was forbidden to shot at an airman hanging under the chute.Violence of this rule meant automatically exclusion of this pilot from the band of his friends. And W.R. told me, as far he knows, that something like that never happened in his unit. Who owns his book knows, that once, after W.R. bailed out, one Mustang made a circle, flew back and shot at him. W.R. hanged the head and posed as killed. Mustang flew away and W.R. was able to write his book few decades later...

When there was an air battle over my town, the eye witnesses saw the German pilots shoting at American crewmembers under the chutes. One of them absolutely unhurt, with hands up, was even killed by machine gun by a members of German Grenzpolizei (board police) on the ground...

One of German fighters, that shot down a B-17 of my friend´s uncle, even shot at the young Czech boys on the ground. Later he landed, toke a motorbike, drove to the crash site and toke pictures there. His picture is attached. He told to the young Czech boys-I shot at you as I thought your white shirts are chutes... we never found out his name...

So such things happened on both sides and I really think that such cases as described in this thread were exceptions...

[Messy1]

It's a sad fact of war, there are instances on both sides of this issue that show both the best and worst in men. It's a tough decision, do you let the guy bailing out live, and chance him coming back up in the air and killing you? I don't think i could have shot someone hanging from a chute, but they were in a different place.

[lesofprimus]

Very interesting info Roman, thanks for that...

[seesul]

Originally Posted by lesofprimus

Very interesting info Roman, thanks for that...

Which part do you mean Dan, that one about Willi Reschke?
Do you own his book? If so I can post the date of the event...

[fly boy]

amazing

[seesul]

dan, that w.r.´s almost deadly meeting with mustang was on august 24,1944, over czechoslovakia. if that mustang aimed better, w. r. would never shot down b-17 5 day later close to my town and i would never get in touch with him...
sorry for my typing, i´m holding my daughter in my left arm

[seesul]

Originally Posted by Messy1

It's a sad fact of war, there are instances on both sides of this issue that show both the best and worst in men. It's a tough decision, do you let the guy bailing out live, and chance him coming back up in the air and killing you? I don't think i could have shot someone hanging from a chute, but they were in a different place.

yes, exactly. it wasn´t a pc game, it was a war.everyone fought for his life and couldn´t restart it as a game.
absolutely agree...

[lm2f]

the best part was that Franz lived in Vancouver after the war, not far from Charlie

[B-17engineer]

I heard During Monte Cassino a Similar thing happened with the British and Germans. they helped each other and the Germans gave the Brits Stretchers and the Brits gave the Germans cigarettes

[Ramirezzz]

great story indeed Roman, thanks for posting it