November 2018 FLYPAST 65
SPOT FACT The Storch was used on
every main European and African front
Spotlight
history
Fi 256 ve-seat versions were built by Morane-Saulnier
22
e
(1896-1987) was a former World
War One fighter pilot with 19
confirmed and three unconfirmed
aerial victories on the Eastern Front.
A printer by trade, he eventually
sold his business and became a
flying instructor in 1926 and, in
1930, bought the Segelflugzeugbau
Kassel sailplane company. Being
a Nazi party member, contracts
seemed to follow quickly. Fieseler’s
blueprint, the combined brainchild
of chief designer Reinhold Mewes
(formerly of manufacturers Heinkel
and Blohm und Voss) and technical
director Erich Bachem, was for a
high-wing single-engined lightweight
aircraft with a capability enhanced by
fixed slats on the wing leading edge,
and flaps and ailerons that filled the
entire trailing edge.
To explain this more fully
evaluation of a captured Storch by
both the French and British in 1945
stated: “The slats were fixed and of
11.25in chord reaching from the
[wing] root to within 12.25in of
the wingtips. The total slat area was
37.8 square feet. The slotted flaps
were interconnected with slotted
ailerons so that the ailerons were
automatically set down to 12.5
degrees from neutral when the flaps
were fully down (40 degrees).”
This gave the Storch its remarkable
short take-off and landing ability,
the same report stating the optimal
take-off run was 150 yards and
landing run a mere 42 yards (the
length of two cricket squares).
Its unique cockpit area also gave
the Storch near-perfect all-round
visibility, while its distinctive fixed
undercarriage engendered the
look of a long-legged bird such as
the Stork...and the name stuck.
Another innovation was that its
wings could be folded rearwards,
making it easier for ground
transportation, towing and storage.
Production
After the RLM awarded the
contract to Fieseler in 1935, the first
prototype, coded D-IBXY, made
its maiden flight in May 1936.
Airframe V-1, as it was known, had
a bigger tail and bulkier fuselage
behind the cockpit, and slightly
different wings compared with later
iterations. From V-2 onwards, the
aircraft was changed to look like
all subsequent Storchs, namely a
thinner fuselage and smaller tail.
Flight trials were satisfactory and
from then on, the Storch became
one of the few new German aircraft
unhindered by development and
engine problems; its powerplant
was the Argus AS 10. As a result,
Fi 256 ve-seat versions were built by Morane-SaulFi 256 ve-seat versions were built by Morane-Saulniernier
short take-off and landing ability,
examples of the first production
aircraft, the Fi 156 A, were delivered
to the Luftwaffe in 1937, quickly
followed by the main production
model, the Fi 156 C. Initially, the
C differed little from the A but as
the war continued, new sub-variants
introduced changes to the cockpit,
seating and canopy layout, defensive
weapons and adaption for desert
operations. This was followed by the
D version, designed for aeromedical
duties. There were other intended
uses such as anti-partisan and anti-
shipping operations, but these did
not come to fruition.
The Storch was initially built at the
Fieseler Werke at Kassel, Germany.
Then in 1942, production started at
the Morane-Saulnier (MS) factory
at Puteaux on the western suburbs
of Paris, after which it moved to
the Leichtbau Budweis factory at
Budweis and then to the Mraz
r
Top
The classic lines of the
Storch are evident in this
view of TK+JE, illustrating
the very wide track of
the type’s stalky main
undercarriage when on
the ground. MALCOLM V
LOWE COLLECTION
Above
Shown in Norway, in
April 1940, these two
Storchs sport different
camoufl age. Note the
markings on the nearest
aircraft have been mostly
painted over.
Below
Close-up illustrating
the distinctive engine
air intake and the
struts supporting the
undercarriage. This
photograph shows aircraft
46-2 in Spain.