Charles Lindbergh, the famed aviator, explorer and all-American hero, had a secret second family, according to three Germans who claim he was their father.

Americans may have to re-examine the legacy of the airman portrayed as a happy family man with five children and his wife, Anne Morrow.

The two men and one woman who say their father was Lindbergh have come forward with a collection of letters he wrote to their mother.

In an article yesterday, they told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that, on a visit to Germany in 1957, Lindbergh, then 55, fell in love with Brigitte Hesshaimer, a 31-year-old hat maker.

Very possible, he loved the Germans, was a prolific letter writter as the story says, was often away from home on world trips, and he seemed to compartmentalize his life.