Ludwig Franz Stigler died 22-03-2008, aged 92, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and Charlie Brown died 8 month later on 24-11- 2008, age 86 in Florida and is buried at Woodlawn Park Cemetery South Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Did Franz Stigler get the Knight's Cross?

The Luftwaffe pilot, 28-year-old Franz Stigler, already had 27 victory tallies to his name. If he achieved 30 victory tallies, he would be eligible for the highest award of Nazi Germany, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

How many planes did Franz Stigler shoot down?

And Stigler was a workhorse airman. He flew over 400 combat missions, was shot down repeatedly, wounded four times, shot down some 45 Allied airplanes, and lost a brother early in the war.

How many b17 were used in Memphis Belle?

Five airworthy B-17s were used in the filming of the 1990 British-American war drama Memphis Belle. Two were from the US (N-17W), both on display in Seattle: the Movie Memphis Belle (44-83546), and B-17G Sally B from the UK.

What did the Luftwaffe do?

Luftwaffe, (German: “air weapon”) component of the German armed forces tasked with the air defense of Germany and fulfillment of the country's airpower commitments abroad. The Luftwaffe was formally created in 1935, but military aviation had existed in the shadows in Germany since the end of World War I.

Bf 109 pilot Franz Stigler and B-17 pilot Charlie Brown's first meeting

How was the Iron Cross awarded?

The Iron Cross was awarded for bravery in battle as well as other military contributions in a battlefield environment. The Iron Cross 2nd Class came with a ribbon and the cross itself was worn in one of two different ways: From the second button in the tunic for the first day after award.

How many planes does a pilot have to shoot down to become an ace?

A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace are varied, but is usually considered to be five or more.

When did Germany lose air superiority?

A study of the Luftwaffe's efforts to cope with the loss of daylight air superiority in 1944-45 is of more than historical interest.

How accurate is the movie Memphis Belle?

Memphis Belle is a fictionalization of the 1944 documentary Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress by director William Wyler, about the 25th and last mission of an American Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, the Memphis Belle, based in England during World War II.

Why is the Memphis Belle so famous?

Of the 12,750 B-17s produced, Memphis Belle is famous for being the first Eighth Air Force bomber to complete 25 combat missions over occupied Europe without a crewman being killed and returning to the United States. ... Until you have been on a Flying Fortress in combat, you can't know how essential that is.”

What was the life expectancy of a b17 crew?

Nothing in the peacetime lives of thousands of young Americans had prepared them for the violence that lay ahead. Although such statistics were not circulated among Army Air Forces crews, the average life expectancy of an Eighth Air Force B-17 in late 1943 was 11 missions.

Why was the B-24 called the flying coffin?

Officially designated the “Liberator,” the square shaped B-24 could easily turn into a death trap. It was hard to fly with its stiff and heavy controls, and so earned its name by its crews as the “Flying Coffin.”

Which plane shot down the most planes in ww2?

It is accurate to state that the P-38 did shoot down more Japanese aircraft than any other USAAF plane with 1,857, with the P-40 running a close second at 1,633.5.

How many Luftwaffe pilots died in ww2?

The Luftwaffe also suffered casualties of nearly 1,000 airmen, many highly experienced bomber pilots. The Soviet losses in aircraft in 1942 had totalled 14,700, along with thousands of pilots.

How many German pilots died in ww2?

Roughly 12,000 German day fighter pilots were killed or are still missing in action, with a further 6,000 being wounded.

What is Panzer man?

"Panzer-man" refers to German tank drivers, and continues the image of the speaker's father as scary and terrible.

Is Lufthansa a Luftwaffe?

The Versailles Treaty that ended World War I prohibited military aviation in Germany, but a German civilian airline—Lufthansa—was founded in 1926 and provided flight training for the men who would later become Luftwaffe pilots.