68 FLYPAST November 2018
SPOT FACT The Fi 156 V-4 was a prototype tted
with ski landing gear and an auxiliary fuel tankgliders took part in the assault,
which commenced at 1405hrs on
September 12, 1943; all but one
glider landed without incident and
Mussolini was quickly released
without a shot being fired.
The next phase was for Hptm
Heinrich Gerlach, a transport
pilot on the staff of General Kurt
Student, Commanding General of
XI. Fliegerkorps, to fly in a Storch to
the limited landing area at the hotel,
which he did successfully. However,
taking off again was going to be
difficult as Hauptsturmführer Otto
Skorzeny, the SS officer who had
tracked down Mussolini, insisted
on accompanying them. Gerlach
succeeded, despite the weight, and
landed safely at Pratica di Mare
airfield after which Mussolini
was flown to Germany, meeting
with Adolf Hitler a few days later.
Gerlach and Skorzeny were awarded
the Ritterkreuz a week or so later,
while Gen Student was awarded
the Oakleaves to the Ritterkreuz;
Mors and Oblt Georg Freiherr von
Berlepsch of 1./Fallschirmjäger Lehr
Bataillon (the latter led the ground
assault) were awarded the German
Cross in Gold. Gerlach, who would
also later receive the German Cross
in Gold, survived the war, rejoined
the Bundesluftwaffe and retired with
the rank of Oberstleutnant; he died
on October 20, 1993.return. The final mission took place
on April 29, 1945 as by then, fuel
was in short supply; three Storchs
took off, but none returned.
The last recorded use of a Storch in
a combat zone occurred around the
same time as the desperate attempts
by Sonderkommando Totenkopf.
German aviatrix and test pilot
Hanna Reitsch is recorded as flying
GenOberst Robert Ritter von Greim
in a Storch from Gatow airfieldoutside Berlin, to an improvised
airstrip near the Brandenburg Gate
in the embattled city centre, after
which she returned to Gatow.
Due to its popularity as a STOL
aircraft during and after the war,
it’s unsurprising there are at least
29 Fi 156 survivors spread across
the world, in both flying and
static condition. There are also at
least 60 examples of the MS 500
series aircraft (differentiated by
alternative engines) in existence.
Thus, a relatively unsung hero
lives on.Towards the end of the conflict,
the Storch was designated for other
more unusual if not desperate uses.
The bespoke unit Sonderkommando
Totenkopf or Bienenstock (Deaths
Head or Beehive) was formed
around April 14, 1945, manned
by volunteers from the Army and
Luftwaffe, and believed to have
been commanded by experienced
former Legion Condor and Battle
of Britain bomber pilot Maj OttoKöhnke. Using Storchs as well
as Siebel 204s, and Bücker 181
Bestmanns, operations were to
be carried out behind Allied lines
by personnel armed mainly with
Panzerfaust anti-tank rockets. On
April 25, 1945, ten Storchs, each
with two crew, were tasked to
attack supplies, tanks and bridges
in the Rottweil/Tuttlingen areas in
southern Germany; five took off and
four returned (and of those two were
damaged). The following day nine
Storchs flew to attack similar targets
in the Dillingen area. A bridge at
Günzburg was confirmed destroyed
but five aircraft failed toAbove gliders took part in the assault,
This Fi 156 has
suffered a landing
accident in Russia.
Note the band under
the fuselage cross.
The code either
starts SI or S1; if the
latter, the unit would
be Sturzkampf-
geschwader 3.Right
The Fi 156D was
the air ambulance
version. German
soldiers are seen
loading a casualty
through the unique
access door of this
sub-type.Below
Storch C7 VD+TD
(WkNr 475099) was
built by Mraz in
Czechoslovakia but
was captured by the
Allies. Eventually
it was fl own by
the Royal Aircraft
Establishment at
Farnborough, as ‘AIR
MIN 99’, with British
national insignia. KEY