Conception and production

In 1935, the RLM (Reichsluftfahrtministerium, Reich Aviation Ministry) invited several aviation companies to submit design proposals that would compete for the production contract for a new Luftwaffe aircraft design suitable for liaison, army co-operation (today called forward air control), and medical evacuation. This resulted in the Messerschmitt Bf 163 and Siebel Si 201 competing against the Fieseler firm's entry. Conceived by chief designer Reinhold Mewes and technical director Erich Bachem, Fieseler's design had a far better short take off and landing ("STOL") performance. A fixed slat ran along the entire length of the leading edge of the long wings, while a hinged and slotted set of control surfaces ran along the entire length of trailing edge. This was inspired by earlier 1930s Junkers Doppelflügel, "double-wing" aircraft wing control surface design concepts. For the Fi 156, this setup along each wing panel's trailing edge was split nearly 50/50 between the inboard-located flaps and outboard-located ailerons, which, in turn, included trim tab devices over half of each aileron's trailing edge length.

Fi 156 in flight

A design feature rare for land-based aircraft enabled the wings on the Storch to be folded back along the fuselage in a manner similar to the wings of the Royal Navy's Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber. This allowed the aircraft to be carried on a trailer or even towed slowly behind a vehicle. The primary hinge for the folding wing was located in the wing root, where the rear wing spar met the cabin. The long legs of the main landing gear contained oil-and-spring shock absorbers that had a travel of 40 cm (15-3/4 inches), allowing the aircraft to land on comparatively rough and uneven surfaces; this was combined with a "pre-travel" distance of 20 cm, before the oleos began damping the landing gear shock.^[3] In flight, the main landing gear legs hung down, giving the aircraft the appearance of a long-legged, big-winged bird, hence its nickname, Storch. With its very low landing speed, the Storch often appeared to land vertically, or even backwards in strong winds from directly ahead.

Starting with the C-2 variant, the Fi 156 was fitted with a raised, fully-glazed position for a flexible rear-firing MG 15 7.92mm machine gun for self-defense.^[4]

German production

About 2,900 Fi 156s, mostly C variants, were produced from 1937 to 1945. Main production was at the Fieseler Factory in Kassel, in 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. Factories in other countries under German control manufactured aircraft, including Fi 156s, for Germany.

Soviet production

In 1939, after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Germany provided several aircraft, including the Fi 156C, to the Soviet Union. Oleg Antonov was made responsible for putting the aircraft into production to meet Soviet requirements, and given a choice between designing an equivalent aircraft or merely copying the German design, the latter was selected. The aircraft was titled OKA-38 and two versions were envisaged: the SS three seat liaison aircraft, and the N-2 air ambulance capable of carrying two stretchers plus a medic. A prototype was constructed in Factory No. 365, established on the basis of Lithuanian Military Aviation Works, in Kaunas, recently occupied Lithuania. The first prototype however was built in Factory No. 23 in Leningrad and flew before the end of 1940. The production in Kaunas has just started as the factory was lost to the German advance in 1941. While Antonov's efforts had produced a heavier aircraft, which required as much as three times the field for landing and take off as the German Fi 156C (160 m vs 55 m), it also had much greater range and increased load capability.^[5] After the war Antonov went on to design the legendary An-2 STOL biplane, which also had excellent STOL performance.

Production in Czechoslovakia

In 1944 production was moved from the Leichtbau Budweis to the Mráz factory in Choceň which produced 138 examples of the Fi 156, locally designated as "K-65 Čáp". Production ended in 1949.

Production in France

Morane-Saulnier MS.505 Criquet

During World War II, Morane-Saulnier was operated under German control and built a number of German types including the Fieseler Storch. Immediately after the liberation of France in 1944, the production of Fi 156 at the Morane-Saulnier factory was continued at the request of the Armée de l'Air, designated MS 500 Criquet for the batch of aircraft produced with the remaining stock of Argus air-cooled inverted V8 engines. Aircraft with further modifications and different engines (inline and radial) are known under different type numbers. The use of the aircraft in Indochina highlighted the weakness of wood for the construction of the airframe; it was then decided to build the wings of metal. Among the modifications, the defensive weapon aiming through the back window was dropped, although some aircraft were modified in the field to take a MAC 34T machine gun firing through one of the side windows. Some 141 aircraft were built before the end of World War II, and a total of 925 aircraft were built before the end of the production of all types of Criquet by Morane-Saulnier in 1965.

Production in Romania

Licence production was started in Romania in October 1943 at the ICAR factory in Bucharest. Only 10 were built by the time the ICAR factory was bombed in May 1944. Production resumed later in 1944, but only six were completed before repair work halted production. From June 1945 until 1946, a further 64 aircraft were built.^[6]

Summary of production

Production per factory and per type until 31 March 1945:

Modern development

Slepcev Storch

Because of its superb STOL characteristics, there have been many attempts to recreate or copy the Storch, mainly in the form of various three-quarter scale homebuilt aircraft, such as the Pazmany PL-9 Stork, Roger Mann's RagWing RW19 Stork, and Preceptors STOL King.

As an example, the Slepcev Storch is a three-quarter scale reproduction of the original with some simplifications. The use of modern materials provides better STOL performance than the original with a take-off run of 30 m and landing-roll of 50 m with no headwind. It was originally designed and manufactured in Australia^[7] and is now manufactured in Serbia.^[8]

During World War II

The Storch involved in Mussolini's rescue in the Gran Sasso raid.

The Storch was deployed in all European and North African theaters of World War II. In addition to its liaison function, a number were used to fly a battalion of Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland behind enemy lines during the invasion of Belgium.

Field Marshal Rommel used Storch aircraft for transport and battlefield surveillance during the North African desert campaign of World War II.

In 1943, the Storch played a 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. However, the problem of how to get back off remained. 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 30 m (100 ft), and after Mussolini and Skorzeny boarded, it took off in 80 m (250 ft), even though the aircraft was overloaded. The Storch involved in rescuing Mussolini bore the radio code letters, or Stammkennzeichen, of "SJ + LL"^[9] in the motion picture coverage of the daring rescue.

On 26 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.^[10]

Air Vice Marshal Harry Broadhurst and his Storch, Italy, 1943

A Storch was the last aircraft shot down by the Allies on the Western Front and another was downed by a direct Allied counterpart of the Storch, an L-4 Grasshopper, the military version of the well-known American Piper J-3 Cub civilian training and sport aircraft. 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.^[11]

During the war a number of Störche were captured by the Allies. One became the personal aircraft of Field Marshal 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.

The British captured 145, of which 64 were given to the French as war compensation from Germany.

Post-World War II

An Austrian-registered Storch fitted with spraying equipment at Stuttgart Airport in 1965

The French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) and the French Army Light Aviation (Aviation Légère de l’Armée de Terre) used the Criquet from 1945 to 1958 throughout the Indochina War and the Algerian War. The Swiss Air Force and other mountainous European countries continued to use the Storch for rescues in terrain where STOL performance was necessary, as with the historically significant Gauli Glacier crash rescue in November 1946, as a pair of Flugwaffe-flown Storches were the sole means to get its twelve survivors to safety. After World War II, Storch aircraft were used in utility roles including agricultural spraying. Many Storches are still operational today and are commonly shown at air shows. In North America, both the Collings Foundation and the Fantasy of Flight museum have airworthy Fi 156 Storch aircraft in their collections.

Argentina

Morane-Saulnier MS.502 Criquet, Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica de Argentina, 2012

• MS.502 Criquet at the Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica, at Morón, Buenos Aires.^[13]

Austria

Fi 156 at Museum of Military History, Vienna, Austria.

• 110253 – Fi 156 on static display at the Museum of Military History in Vienna, Austria.^[14]

Belgium

• 5503 – S-14B on static display at the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels, Brussels.^[15]

Finland

• 4230/39 – Fi 156 K-1 on display at the Finnish Aviation Museum in Vantaa, Uusimaa. It is the only surviving Finnish Air Force Storch. It retains its civilian paint scheme and registration, OH-FSA, from its final owner. It previously carried the serial number ST-112 and the registration OH-VSF.^[16]

Germany

Fi 156 displayed in the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim

• 73 – MS.505 airworthy at the Fliegendes Museum in Großenhain, Saxony. It is registered as D-EGTY and is painted in French Air Force colors.^[17][18]
• 637 – MS.500 on static display at the Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr in Berlin, Berlin.^[19]
• 4299 – Fi 156 C-3 on static display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Bavaria.^[20][21]
• 110062 – Fi 156 C-3 on static display at the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin, Berlin.^[22]
• 110254 – S-14 on static display at the Technik Museum Speyer in Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate.^[23]
• Composite – Fi 156 C-3 airworthy at the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim in Munich, Bavaria.^[24][25]

Italy

• MM12822 – Fi 156 C-3 on display at Italian Air Force Museum in Bracciano, Lazio.^[26]

Norway

• 43 – MS.500 airworthy in Fetsund, Akershus. It has been restored as a Fi 156 C-3.^[27]
• Composite – MS.500 on display at the Sola Aviation Museum in Stavanger, Rogaland. It has been converted to resemble a Fi 156 C-2 during restoration.^[28]

Serbia

Yugoslav Air Force K-65 at Belgrade Aviation Museum, Serbia.

• c/n 91 – Mráz K-65 Čáp on static display at the Belgrade Aviation Museum in Surčin, Belgrade. It was converted to a medical transport and has the registration YU-COE.^[29]

South Africa

• 475099 – Fi 156 C-7 airworthy at the South African Air Force Museum at Air Force Base Swartkop in Centurion, Gauteng. It is painted in the Luftwaffe markings VT+TD.^[30][31] It was acquired by the South African Air Force in 1946.

Spain

• Composite – Fi 156 C-3 on display at the Museo del Aire in Madrid.^[32][33]

Switzerland

• 1685 – Fi 156 C-3 on static display at the Flieger-Flab-Museum in Dubendorf, Zurich.^[34]
• 8063 – Fi 156 C-3/Trop on static display at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne, Lucerne.^[35]

United Kingdom

• 475081 – Fi 156 C-7 on static display at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford in Cosford, Shropshire.^[36][37][38]

United States

A privately owned MS.500 flying at the Wings Over Houston airshow, October 2019.

• 361 – MS.502 under restoration to airworthiness with the Southern California Wing of the Commemorative Air Force in Camarillo, California.^[39][40]
• 381 – MS.502 on static display at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California.^[41][42]
• 724 – MS.500 on static display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.^[43]
• 728 – MS.502 airworthy at the War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.^[44][45]
• 3808 – Fi 156 C-1 on static display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. It was built in 1940.^[46][47]
• 4362 – Fi 156 C-2 airworthy at the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington.^[48][49][50]
• 4621 – MS.500 airworthy with the Collings Foundation in Stow, Massachusetts.^[51][52][53] bearing the Geschwaderkennung "B1+BB" of a Luftwaffe "flight-readiness" support unit.
• 4642 – MS.500 airworthy at the Fantasy of Flight museum in Polk City, Florida.^[54][55][56]
• Unknown ID – MS.500 in storage at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility of the National Air and Space Museum in Suitland, Maryland.^[57]

Notes

Bibliography

• Axworthy Mark. "On Three Fronts: Romania's Aircraft Industry During World War Two." Air Enthusiast No.56, pp. 8–27. Stamford: Key Publishing, 1994. ISSN 0143-5450.
• Axworthy Mark, Cornel Scafes and Cristian Craciunoiu. Third Axis Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945. London: Arms & Armour Press, 1995. ISBN 1-85409-267-7.
• Bateson, Richard. Fieseler Fi 156 Storch Aircraft Profile No. 228. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1971. ASIN: B000J443X2.
• Beevor, Antony. Berlin: The Downfall 1945. London: Penguin Books, 2002. ISBN 0-670-88695-5.
• Green, William. The Warplanes of the Third Reich. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1970. ISBN 0-385-05782-2.
• Karnas, Dariusz and Pawel Przymusiala. Fi 156 Storch Vol.1 (Militaria n.68). Warsaw: Wydawnictwo, 1998. ISBN 83-7219-019-4.
• Karnas, Dariusz and Pawel Przymusiala. Fi 156 Storch Vol.2 (Militaria n.100) Warsaw: Wydawnictwo, 1999. ISBN 83-7219-059-3.
• Kulikov, Victor (March 2000). "Des occasions en or pour Staline, ou les avions allemands en URSS" [Golden Opportunities for Stalin, or German Aircraft in the USSR]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (84): 16–23. ISSN 1243-8650.
• Kulikov, Victor (April 2000). "Des occasions en or pour Staline, ou les avions allemands en URSS". Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (85): 44–49. ISSN 1243-8650.
• Mesko, Jim. "The Rise...and Fall of the Vietnamese AF". Air Enthusiast, August–November 1981, No. 16. pp. 1–12, 78–80. ISSN 0143-5450.
• Ricco, Philippe and Jean-Claude Soumille. Les Avions Allemands aux Couleurs Francaises, Tome 1. Rochemaure, France: Airdoc, 1997. ISBN 2-9509485-5-3.
• Soumille, Jean-Claude. L'Aviation Francaise en Indochine 1946–1954, Tome 2. Rochemaure: Airdoc, 1997.
• Winchester Jim. Aircraft of World War II. San Diego, California: Thunder Bay Press, 2004. ISBN 1-59223-224-8.

Other sources

• Cater, Phil; Caballero, Ricardo (May 2013). "The Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica Buenos Aires". IPMS Magazine. United Kingdom: International Plastic Modellers Society. Retrieved 7 March 2022.