| General
History
“Storch”
means stork in English and was designed by Fiesler in
1935 as a slow flying liaison aircraft. With its high-lift
wings and fixed slots it could take-off and land in less
than 200 feet. With a stall speed less than 25 mph, it
proved its worth throughout World War II. Used on all
fronts, its engine had a tendency to overheat and the
side cowls were generally left off in hot climates.
Many famous events
included this aircraft during World War II. Field Marshall
Erwin Rommel, “The Desert Fox”, flew in one
throughout the North African Campaign landing in troubled
spots everywhere along the front lines. It was a Storch
that rescued Italian Dictator Mussolini from a hotel atop
a mountain peak after Italian partisans captured him toward
the end of the war. It was a “Storch” that
transported the bomb that was used in the attempt on Hitler’s
life in July of 1944. Less than a year later, during the
final days of the war in Europe, famous German woman test-pilot
Hanna Reich flew a Storch into the heart of besieged Berlin
with then current leader ______________. She landed near
the Brandenburg Gate to get last minute instructions from
Hitler. Almost 4000 were built.
During the occupation
of France, the Germans set up a Storch factory in Rouen,
France and forced the French to build them. After the
war, the French found themselves with the tooling, the
parts and the knowledge to build them. It was such a great
airplane that the French continued to build them during
the post war period. During the war, German built wings
were made of wood because of material shortages. After
the war, many aircraft were being melted down and the
French constructed their wings out of aluminum. German
Storch’s were equipped with a rear-mounted gun for
defense while the post French aircraft had no need for
one.
To
learn about the personal history of our very own Fiesler
Fi-156 "Storch" as well as comments from Kermit
Weeks, please visit our beautiful art deco facility and
old-fashioned hangars.
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