二次世界大戰資料庫 (WW2DB)

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Fi 156 Storch ("Stork") aircraft were the result of a request from the German Luftwaffe in 1935 for liaison aircraft. They were designed to be versatile; they did not need a long runway to take off and land, and their foldable wings allowed ease of transportation inside trailers or even towed by vehicles. After the first prototype flight in the spring of 1936, the design was immediately ordered into production with a contract for 16 aircraft. The first Fi 156 Storch aircraft entered service in mid-1937. During WW2, they were found in all major theaters with German presence. In Sep 1943, after General Kurt Student's daring commando rescue of Benito Mussolini from the Campo Imperatore Hotel at Gran Sasso, Lieutenant Otto Skorzeny and Benito Mussolini were extricated via a Fi 156 Storch aircraft that landed on a short 50-meter clearing. In 26 Apr 1945, during the last days of the Berlin siege, the Fi 156 Storch aircraft piloted by Hanna Reitsch was the last to land on the improvised airstrip in the Tiergarten near the Brandenburg Gate, taking her lover Field Marshal Robert Ritter von Greim into Berlin for a meeting with Hitler. At least 60 Fi 156 Storch aircraft were captured by the Allies; one of them was assigned to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery as his personal transport. Between 1937 and 1945, over 2,900 Fi 156 Storch aircraft were built, most of the C variant. Some of them were built at Mr·z factory in Czechoslovakia and Morane-Saulnier factory in France, both of which continued to build them after the war for civilian use, with design designation of K-65 C·p (also "Stork") and MS.500 Criquet ("Locust"), respectively.

SPECIFICATIONS

Fi 156C

Machinery	One Argus As 10 air-cooled inverted V8 engine rated at 240hp
Armament	1x7.92mm rear MG 15 machine gun
Crew	2
Span	14.30 m
Length	9.90 m
Height	3.10 m
Wing Area	26.00 m²
Weight, Empty	860 kg
Weight, Loaded	1,260 kg
Speed, Maximum	175 km/h
Rate of Climb	4.80 m/s
Service Ceiling	5,200 m
Range, Normal	380 km

Photographs