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Fieseler Fi 156 | bgcolor="#87CEEB" colspan="3" align="center" style="border-bottom:3px solid"|Fieseler Fi 156 "Storch" | | olspan="3" align="right"|300px | | gcolor="#87CEEB" colspan="3"|Description | | ole | colspan="2"|Reconnaissance & communications | | rew | colspan="2"|4 | | irst Flight | colspan="2"|1936 | | ntered Service | colspan="2"|1937 | | anufacturer | colspan="2"|Fieseler | | gcolor="#87CEEB" colspan="3"|Dimensions | | ength | 9.9 m | 32 ft 6 in | | ingspan | 14.3 m | 46 ft 9 in | | eight | 3.1 m | 10 ft 0 in | | ing Area | 26 m² | 280 ft² | | gcolor="#87CEEB" colspan="3"|Weights | | mpty | 860 kg | 1,892 lb | | oaded | 1,260 kg | 2,772 lb | | aximum takeoff | kg | lb | | gcolor="#87CEEB" colspan="3"|Powerplant | | ngine | colspan="2"|Argus As10 | | ower | 180 kW | 240 hp | | gcolor="#87CEEB" colspan="3"|Performance | | aximum speed | 175 km/h @ 300 m | 109 mph @ 1,000 ft | | ombat range | 380 km | 239 miles | | erry range | km | miles | | ervice ceiling | 5,200 m | 17,060 ft | | ate of climb | 290 m/min | 945 ft/min | | ing loading | 48.5 kg/m² | 9.9 lb/ft² | | ower/mass | 143 W/kg | 0.087 hp/lb | | gcolor="#87CEEB" colspan="3"|Armament | | uns | colspan="2"|MG 15 7.92 mm machine-gun | The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch (stork) was a small liaison aircraft built by Fieseler during World War II, and production continued in other countries into the 1950s for the private market. It remains famous to this day for its excellent STOL performance, and kit-built later variants are a common fixture at air shows. In 1935, the RLM (Reichsluftfahrtministerium - "Reich Aviation Ministry") put out a tender for a new liaison aircraft for the Luftwaffe to several companies. Fieseler's entry was the most advanced in terms of STOL performance, by far. A fixed slat ran along the entire leading edge of the long wings, while the trailing edge, including the ailerons, was a hinged and slotted flap. The wings could be folded back along the fuselage, allowing it to be carried on a trailer or even towed slowly behind a vehicle. The long legs of the landing gear contained oil and spring shock absorbers that compressed about 450 mm (18 inches) on landing, allowing the plane to set down almost anywhere. In flight they hung down, giving the aircraft the appearance of a very long-legged, big-winged bird. Hence its nickname, the Storch. With its very low landing speed the Storch often landed "at place" or even backwards, in case of wind at 12 o' clock. The first Fi 156A prototype flew in the spring of 1936. It was powered by a V-8 180 kW (240 hp) Argus As 10C engine, which gave the plane a top speed of only 175 km/h (109 mph). But that power was not wasted; the Storch could fly as slow as 50 km/h (32 mph), take off into a light wind in less than 45 m (150 ft), and land in 18 m (60 ft). It was immediately ordered into production by the Luftwaffe with an order for 16 planes, and the first Fi 156As entered service in mid-1937. Fieseler then offered the Fi 156B model which allowed for the retraction of the leading edge slats and a number of minor aerodynamic cleanups, boosting the speed to 208 km/h (130 mph). The Luftwaffe didn't consider such a small difference to be important, and Fieseler instead moved on to the main production version, the C model. The Fi 156C was essentially a "flexible" version of the A model. A small run of C-0s were followed by the C-1 three-seater liaison version, and the C-2 two-seat observation plane with a MG 15 machine gun in the rear for defense. Both models entered service in 1939. In 1941 both were replaced by the C-3 with a "universal cockpit" that could be used in any role. Last of the Cs was the C-5, which was a C-3 model that included a hardpoint under the fuselage for a camera or fuel tank. The Storch could be found on every front throughout the war. It will always be most famous for the rescue of Benito Mussolini from a boulder-strewn mountaintop, surrounded by Italian troops. Otto Skorzeny dropped with 90 paratroopers onto the peak and quickly captured it, but the problem remained of how to get back off. A Fa 223 helicopter was sent, but it broke down en-route. Instead, Walter Gerlach flew in a Storch, landed in 30 m (100 ft), took on Mussolini and Skorzeny, and took back off again in under 80 m (250 ft), even though the plane was overloaded. A total of about 2,900 Fi 156s, mostly Cs, were produced from 1937 to 1945. When the main Fieseler plant switched to building Bf 109s in 1943, Storch production was shifted to the Mrz factory in Czechoslovakia. A large number were also built at the captured Morane-Saulnier factory in France, starting in April 1942, as the MS.500 Criquet. Both factories continued to produce the planes after the war for local civilian markets.
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