[jaepton]

I saw some exchanges on facebook concerning the new book out on Stigler and Brown and I am curious has to were the truth lies before I buy the book. Did Stigler fakes claims and was he the actual German pilot involved? I tend to distrust people with a monetary stakes in things so I bring my question here. Here is a quote from fb from the authors of the book.

""Prior to the release of “A Higher Call,” the only information available on the Experte Schwarm was all taken from one source – “Fighters Over The Desert” written by Christopher Shores and Hans Ring and published in 1969.
When Shores and Ring wrote their book in the 60s, they had access to a very limited part of the RAF records, a portion of which weren’t even usable. Shores and Ring’s primary source on the Experte Schwarm was Edu Neumann, who was not directly involved in the incident since it was investigated and resolved by Gustav Rodel, the commanding offer of Vogel, Bendert, Stigler, and Swallisch.
“A Higher Call” is the first source since “Fighters Over The Desert” to include new information on the Experte Schwarm, gleamed from daily RAF squadron operation records (much more accurate than the monthly summaries previously used in “Fighters Over The Desert”), interviews with Stigler and Rodel, and close examination of Luftwaffe records that were either not available to Shores and Ring, or were misinterpreted at the time.
The result of this new information is a clear picture, for the first time ever, of just what the Experte Schwarm incident was about, how it was uncovered, who the perpetrators were, and how it was resolved. All of this information compiles an entire chapter in “A Higher Call,” that sets the record straight once and for all.
Franz’s involvement in the Experte Schwarm has caused some uniformed aviation enthusiasts to imply that he made up his encounter with Charlie Brown. That is simply absurd. “A Higher Call” includes all the facts and evidence that proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Franz Stigler was indeed the pilot who escorted the B-17 “Ye Olde Pub” out of Germany on December 20, 1943."'

Historian Peter Randall posted this:

When you have any cloud hanging over a possibility, you can only look at the balance of probabilities. So, weighing things up as we know them, it is beyond doubt the Stigler originally falsified claims. Whether or not he bacame a changed man is of course open to conjecture. The details concerning the damaged B-17 have been known for quite some time and it would be very easy for Stigler to put hiself into any narative and fit the known facts.
Going back to the balance of probabilities and the law of averages, you just have to wonder at what the odds are of Stigler actually having that encounter amongst all the other 109 pilots, including those that did not survive. I tend to put things like this into the same category as the well known Bob Johnson story of the 190 shooting the crap out of him, saluting, then leaving him alone. It's part of the 56th legend, enhanced in print by Martin Caidin and very credible until you read Gerry Johnson's account of the action where he shot a 190 off of Bob's tail whilst a second one hightailed it.
Add to this the well known trait of WW2 fighter vets who very often tell you what they think you want to hear, and you have a situatiuon that very likely will never be fully known. Bottom line, I think Caveat Emptor summs up the situation very well as you can either buy the story or not buy it as you think fit. Bit long winded I'm afraid but such things do need some careful consideration.