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Subject: Fieseler Fi 156 "Storch"
Date: 17 Nov 2016 17:34:35 -0800
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fieseler_Fi_156
The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch (English: Stork) was a small German liaison aircraft
built by Fieseler before and during World War II. Production continued in other
countries into the 1950s for the private market. It remains famous for its
excellent STOL performance; French-built later variants often appear at air
shows.
In 1935, the RLM (Reichsluftfahrtministerium, Reich Aviation Ministry) invited
tenders from several companies for a new Luftwaffe aircraft 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 tender. 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.
wing control surface design. 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 themselves included trim tab devices over half
of each aileron's trailing edge length.
Role
Reconnaissance & communications
National origin
Germany
Manufacturer
Fieseler
Morane-Saulnier
First flight
24 May 1936
Introduction
1937
Retired
Germany: 1945
France: 1970
Primary users
Luftwaffe
French Army
French Air Force
Produced
Number built
Over 2,900
The Storch was deployed in all European and North African theaters of World War
II, but it is probably most famous for its role in Operation Eiche, the 1943
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. But 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" 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 the Third Reich. 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 victim of the last dog fight 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.
Specifications (Fi 156)
General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 9.9 m (32 ft 6 in)
Wingspan: 14.3 m (46 ft 9 in)
Height: 3.1 m (10 ft 0 in)
Empty weight: 860 kg (1,900 lb)
Loaded weight: 1,260 kg (2,780 lb)
Performance
Maximum speed: 175 km/h (109 mph) at 300 m (1,000 ft)
Range: 380 km (210 nmi, 240 mi)
Service ceiling: 4,600 m (15,090 ft)
Rate of climb: 4.8 m/s (945 ft/min)
Power/mass: 143 W/kg (0.087 hp/lb)
Armament
*
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