Neil,
I was going to ask you about the painting you posted, but have just found it by an internet search.
If anyone is interested (no wallspace left but am so taken by the story I will try to get one :whistle:), it is available as a 11" x 15" print from http://www.stormbirdsannex.com - look under Aircraft Art - Iverson, it is titled "An Act of Chivalry". Looks to be a fine art print at approx. £18 plus postage. The detail is very good - two tasters at full resolution on the site.
There is also a description of the incident, which I have blatantly copied as it gives another take on the story.
This fascinating event occurred in December of 1943 when Charles Brown and the crew of "Ye Olde Pub" were nursing their badly damaged B-17 back home. They happened to fly directly over Oberleutnant Franz Stigler's fighter base. Stigler had already shot down two other B-17s that day and quickly took off and caught up with Ye Olde Pub to make it kill number three.
As Stigler moved in to fire, he noticed how badly damaged the B-17 was. There were gaping holes in the fuselage and half the rudder and horizontal stabilizer was shot off. The tail gunner did not fire, so he closed in and could see blood dripping off the .50 caliber tail guns. Inside, Stigler could see the crew members frantically tending to the wounded. At that point, he felt that shooting down the aircraft would be like shooting men in their parachutes.
Stigler pulled up along side the B-17 and motioned for Brown to land in Sweden. However, Brown continued towards home. When they reached the coast, Stigler saluted, pulled up and flew back to base. If his actions had become know, he would have been court-martialed and possibly shot for letting an enemy bomber escape.