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Author | |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | History |
Publisher | Berkley Books |
Publication date | 2012 |
Pages | 400 |
ISBN | 978-0-425-25286-4 |
A Higher Call is a 2012 non-fiction book by Adam Makos with Larry Alexander, published Berkley Books. It recounts the story of the Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident of 1943, which took place in the skies of Germany during the Second World War. In it, Franz Stigler, a German Luftwaffe fighter ace flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109, guided a severely damaged American Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress out of German airspace after failing to persuade it to surrender, an act of chivalry.
The work is based on interviews with Stigler and Brown more than 50 years after the incident.
A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II was written by military historian Adam Makos with military writer Larry Alexander and published in 2012 by Berkley Books. [1] [2] It has 400 pages, [2] and includes photographs, notes and a bibliography. [3] There is no index. [1]
Makos is editor of a military history magazine, Valor. [4] He writes regularly about the Second World War and as in the book, he relates some of his work to his own life changing experiences. [5] He describes the book title as "one man's humanity over his nationality". [6]
A Higher Call is a story about chivalry; it tells the story about Franz Stigler, a German fighter ace of the Luftwaffe pilot who flew a Messerschmitt Bf 109, and Charlie Brown, a 21-year-old American pilot of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress named 'Ye Olde Pub'. On 20 December 1943, following a bombing mission over Germany, the severely damaged American aircraft was approached by Stigler whilst attempting to fly to England from Berlin. Stigler's duty was to destroy the American aircraft, but after seeing the wounded crew, instead flew in formation and guided it away from Germany after failing to persuade it to surrender. The book begins with Makos's account of his own experiences, research and how he interviewed the two veterans more than 50 years after the incident and after they had reunited in the 1980s. [7] In his experience this is one of several similar stories. [8] He explains in the first chapter that before meeting Brown, he would never have interviewed or written about a German fighter pilot. It is followed by the story of Stigler's early life, training in flying and Stigler's account of post-war Germany. It also covers how Stigler went from surveying flight routes for Luft Hansa to training pilots for the Luftwaffe, including his brother August, who experienced a fatal crash. [7]
How Stigler and Brown later reunited is discussed near the end of the book. [7]
In 2013, Higher Call featured on The New York Times Best Seller list. [9] In 2014, the book appeared on Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force Mark Welsh's recommended reading list. [10] A review appeared in The Times of London. [11]
In a review in Air Power History , the book is noted to give an understanding of doing the right thing "especially when no-one is watching". [3]
The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed Schwalbe in fighter versions, or Sturmvogel in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft.
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Hans-Joachim Marseille was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II. He is noted for his aerial battles during the North African Campaign and his Bohemian lifestyle. One of the most successful fighter pilots, he was nicknamed the "Star of Africa". Marseille claimed all but seven of his 158 victories against the British Commonwealth's Desert Air Force over North Africa, flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter for his entire combat career. No other pilot claimed as many Western Allied aircraft as Marseille.
Gerhard "Gerd" Barkhorn was a German military aviator who was a renowned wing commander in the Luftwaffe during World War II. As a fighter ace, he was the second most successful fighter pilot of all time after fellow pilot Erich Hartmann. Other than Hartmann, Barkhorn is the only fighter ace to ever exceed 300 claimed victories. Following World War II, he became a high-ranking officer in the German Air Force of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Captain Eric Melrose "Winkle" Brown,, Hon FRAeS was a British Royal Navy officer and test pilot who flew 487 types of aircraft, more than anyone else in history.
Jagdverband 44 was a German Luftwaffe special operations unit during World War II. It was formed during the last months of World War II to operate the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter.
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The Battle of Britain was an effort by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) during the summer and autumn of 1940 to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force (RAF) of the United Kingdom in preparation for the planned amphibious and airborne forces invasion of Britain by Operation Sea Lion. Neither the German leader Adolf Hitler nor his High Command of the Armed Forces believed it was possible to carry out a successful amphibious assault on Britain until the RAF had been neutralised. Secondary objectives were to destroy aircraft production and ground infrastructure, to attack areas of political significance, and to terrorise the British people into seeking an armistice or surrender.
Otto Hans "Hannes" Trautloft was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during the Spanish Civil War and World War II, and general in the postwar German Air Force. As a fighter ace, he is credited with 58 enemy aircraft shot down, including 5 in Spain, 8 on the Western Front and 45 on the Eastern Front of World War II.
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Oberleutnant Ludwig Franz Stigler was a German fighter pilot and fighter ace in World War II.
Larry Alexander is an American journalist and military historian who has written a number of books about World War II, most notably about Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. Easy Company was made famous principally by Stephen Ambrose's book and the Band of Brothers of that name.
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The Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident occurred on 20 December 1943, when, after a successful bomb run on Bremen, 2nd Lt. Charles "Charlie" Brown's B-17F Flying Fortress Ye Olde Pub of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was severely damaged by German fighters. Luftwaffe pilot Franz Stigler had the opportunity to shoot down the crippled bomber but did not do so, and instead escorted it over and past German-occupied territory so as to protect it. After an extensive search by Brown, the two pilots met each other 50 years later and developed a friendship that lasted until Stigler's death in March 2008. Brown died only a few months later, in November of the same year.
Adam Makos is an American author and military historian. His works include A Higher Call (2012), which recounts the Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident, and Spearhead (2019), a detailed biography of World War II tank gunner Clarence Smoyer. Both books have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. The 2022 film, Devotion, is based on his 2015 book of the same title, which tells the true story of a friendship between two U.S. Navy pilots in the Korean War.
Charles Lester "Charlie" Brown was a United States Army Air Forces pilot during World War II. He became well known for being the pilot of the B-17F Flying Fortress named Ye Olde Pub which was involved in the Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident.