Who is Franz Stigler?

Franz Stigler

Franz Stigler’s actions not only saved a crew of a B-17, the enemy, but saved his humanity. From the day he was drafted into service as a flight instructor, Franz was entrusted with visionary leadership. He also reflected ethical leadership on 20 December 1943. As with many from that generation, Franz approached war from the point of view of his country and his belief that what he was doing was just. It was his job to train pilots well, and when his turn to fight, do just that, kill the enemy.

Visionary Leader

Franz Stigler was initially a glider pilot in his youth. His father and parish priest started a club for young men and the joy of watching flight captured his imagination. After high school and some college, he was trained to be an airline pilot with Lufthansa. Since it was the rebuilding of Germany, the government paid for this training. In turn, Franz was pressed into civilian service with the German air force as a flight instructor. It was here that his natural leadership abilities shined.

One notable student was Gerhard Barkhorn. This was during B school where pilots learned more advanced skills in flying such as distance flying, navigation, and the handling of emergencies. During one extra training session, Franz noted that bark horn was a horrible pilot and should be washed out. This would no doubt place the cadet into the infantry and yet, not at war, Germany was heading that way. Franz executed transformational leadership during this flight. Barkhorn felt defeated again when Franz took over the controls, but instead of landing the plane he continued north. Here he distracted Barkhorn with the buzzing of a nudist camp. This allowed Barkhorn to think less and fly more naturally. It was this realizat...

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...nz Stigler and the pilot of the B-17 did meet many years later at a reunion of American pilots. Franz was quoted that meeting the pilot of the B-17 was like regaining his brother and just as precious (p. 7).

References

Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (U.S.) United States. Department of the Air Force. (2012a). Ethical Leadership (LM01). Maxwell-Gunter Annex, AL: Department of the Air Force.

Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (U.S.) United States. Department of the Air Force. (2012a). Full Range Leadership Development (CF02). Maxwell-Gunter Annex, AL: Department of the Air Force

Makos, A., & Alexander, L. (2013). A higher call. New York: Berkley Books.

Blake, J. (2013, March 9). Two enemies discover a 'higher call' in battle. CNN. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/09/living/higher-call-military-chivalry/