The story was kept secret for many years, but in 1990 the two pilots finally reunited and were close friends until their deaths in 2008.

In North Africa, Stigler flew in the Schwarm made up of Oberleutnant Ferdinand Vögl, the commander of 4.

[3] This Schwarm of JG 27 was prevented from flying together after 59-kill ace Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt reported that he saw them shooting into the dunes of the desert during a mission in which they claimed 12 aerial victories.

[4] On 15 May 1943, Stigler was injured when his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 15371—factory number) suffered engine failure and he was forced to bail out near the Milo Airfield, Sicily.

[7] On 20 December 1943, Stigler met a B-17 bomber nicknamed Ye Olde Pub and its American pilot Charles "Charlie" Brown for the first time.

Stigler had shot down two B-17s earlier that day and he soon caught up to a wounded B-17 flown by Brown.

Lining up to finish the bomber and shoot it down, he noticed the tail gunner never moved the guns.

Upon further inspection of the airplane, he saw through large holes in the fuselage a frantic crew trying to save the lives of their fellow airmen, and decided not to fire.

Stigler motioned to Brown to land his airplane in neutral Sweden because of the extensive damage.

Stigler escorted the B-17 and its crew to the North Sea coast, protecting it from German anti-aircraft gunners (who recognized the silhouette of his Bf 109 and held fire).

Further, upon surrendering to the Allies his log book was confiscated and never returned, making it difficult to track his previous victories.