15th October 1943
Fieseler Fi 156 'Storch'

Fieseler Fi 156 'Storch'

The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch ('stork') was a liaison aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Fieseler. Its nickname of Storch was derived from the lengthy legs of its main landing gear, which gave the aircraft a similar appearance to that of the long-legged, big-winged bird.

Developed during the mid 1930s in response to a request from the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (Reich Aviation Ministry or RLM), the Fi 156 was an affordable and easy to construct aircraft purpose designed for the liaison, army co-operation, and medical evacuation roles. On 24th May 1936, the Fi 156 V1 performed its maiden flight; the first deliveries took place less than a year later. It was well regarded for its excellent short field (STOL) performance and low stalling speed of 50 km/h (31 mph). Around 2,900 aircraft of various models, the most commonplace being the Fi 156C, were produced between 1937 and 1945. The Fi 156 quickly became popular on the export market, eventually being widely used by various nations.

The principal production line was at the Fieseler Factory in Kassel. During 1942, production started in the Morane-Saulnier factory at Puteaux in France. Due to the demand for Fieseler as a subcontractor for building the Fw 190, Fi 156 production was shifted to Leichtbau Budweis in Budweis by the end of 1943.

The Storch was extensively operated by the Luftwaffe. Several reconnaissance units operated the type, such as Aufklärungsgruppe 14 and Aufklärungsgruppe 21. Furthermore, each Geschwader was provided with at least one, if not multiple, Fi 156s. Numerous high ranking German officials, particularly members of the General Staff, had their own Fi 156s, including Field Marshals Albert Kesselring and Erwin Rommel.

[Note: 'Geschwader' - the largest mobile, homogenous Luftwaffe flying unit. Comparable to the Allied Group, it was made up of 3 Gruppen, totalling anywhere from 90 -120 aircraft depending on type.]

Throughout the Second World War, the Fi 156 was deployed in quantity to virtually all theatres that Nazi Germany was militarily active upon; as such, it saw usage in the Eastern Front, Western Front, the Western Desert, and even the Arctic.

During the German invasion of Belgium, in addition to its more routine usage in the liaison role, around 100 Fi 156s were used to transport a battalion of Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland, two men per aircraft, landing on a stretch of road behind enemy lines (Operation Niwi).

During the North African campaign, the Afrika Korps made routine use of the Storch both for transportation and to conduct aerial surveillance. It was also operated by a pair of dedicated desert rescue squadrons to retrieve stranded pilots in this theatre.

During September 1943, the Storch played a pivotal role in Operation Eiche, the rescue of deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from a boulder-strewn mountain-top near the Gran Sasso. Even though the mountain was surrounded by Italian troops, German commando Otto Skorzeny and 90 paratroopers used gliders to land on the peak and quickly captured it, then faced the problem of getting back.

A Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 helicopter was sent, but it broke down en route. Instead, pilot Heinrich Gerlach flew in a Storch. It landed in 30m (100 ft), and after Mussolini and Skorzeny boarded, it took off after a run of 80m (250 ft), even though the aircraft was overloaded. The Storch used in rescuing Mussolini bore the radio code letters, or Stammkennzeichen, of 'SJ + LL' in the motion picture coverage of the daring rescue.

On 26th April 1945, a Storch was one of the last aircraft to land on the improvised airstrip in the Tiergarten near the Brandenburg Gate during the Battle of Berlin and the death throes of Nazi Germany. It was flown by the test pilot Hanna Reitsch, who flew Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim from Munich to Berlin to answer a summons from Hitler.

A Storch was the final aircraft to be shot down by the Allies on the Western Front, and another was forced down by an L-4 Grasshopper, the military version of the American Piper J-3 Cub civilian training and sport aircraft and a direct Allied counterpart of the Storch. The pilot and co-pilot of the L-4, lieutenants Duane Francis and Bill Martin, opened fire on the Storch with their .45 caliber pistols, forcing the German air crew to land and surrender.

During the conflict, a number of Störche were captured by the Allies. One became the personal aircraft of British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. Others were used as the personal aircraft of Air Vice Marshal Arthur Coningham and Air Vice Marshal Harry Broadhurst, who acquired his Storch in North Africa, and flew it subsequently in Italy and North-West Europe.

Source: Wikipedia

Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page