Fieseler Fi 156 - The Best WW2 Plane of Its Kind
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- When flying ace and aircraft manufacturer Gerhard Fieseler designed the Fieseler Fi 156 after a request from the Luftwaffe for a short-range reconnaissance aircraft, little did he know that his unique STOL warplane would eventually be flown by Erwin Rommel, Hermann Göring, and even Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
During World War 2, the light aircraft known as the Storch and equipped with only a single MG15 machine gun would become the eyes of the Wehrmacht during all of its military campaigns, and dozens of renowned Army and Waffen-SS officers would fly it for reconnaissance, scouting, and special operations.
For all its humble beginnings and accomplishments in combat, the versatile Storch would eventually earn legendary status after it took part in one of history’s most daring special operations, one that involved rescuing a captured dictator from the hands of the Allies…
---
Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.
As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.
Kermit Weeks, owner of Fantasy of Flight Air museum, has a 1937 Fieseler Storch in his collection and flies it regularly. He says it's one of his favorite aircraft to fly. Great praise considering he has a P-51, Corsair and Spitfire in his collection. He has several videos here on RUclips flying it around - definitely worth a watch. A remarkable airplane considering its simplicity and versatility.
Stole my thunder, lol. Kermit really brags on his Storch.
I was just about to mention Weeks myself. 😉
Wow, It is a rare plane for sure. I live near Kassel in Germany, where an orig. Storch was restored and is regularly displayed. The club that owns it got 7 figure offers for the plane from private collectors, but refused. I hope it stays here because of its historical connection to the Area.
I once watched him fly the Storch off the apron in front of the hangar and then land it at almost zero forward speed.
@@jiminycrockett6022 Headwind really makes that airplane shine. STOL is really impressive.
One story about the Storch was told by an American fighter pilot. He encuntered one flying over a city and tried to shoot it down. But the plane flew down the streets below the heights of the buildings and when the fighter pilot made a firing pass the Storch would make a turn down the cross street at the city's intersections, The fighter pilot gave up trying to shoot it.
Warthunder Ground RB airfights be like
You all don't know about flying low and slow, used to be easy, airflow changed, now they go like greased lightning or fall out of the sky.
Dancing with the wind.
Sounds like an encounter between a Grasshopper and an Me-109 I heard.
@@admiral_alman8671 WT planes are designed by AH himself: "Make everyone dive bomb!".
I only learned fairly recently that these have folding wings. The hinge points are between the trailing edge and cabin, and the base of the wing strut, allowing the wings to swing backwards for easy towing, concealment etc. Pretty cool.
Yes. Germans often hid them among trees or between buildings with folded wings.
Saw a flight demo of the Storch when I was living in Texas. It was honestly kinda fascinating watching it take off in about 100 feet with a 35-knot headwind.
Was that the rio hondo air museum
Check this one out, makes the Storch look like a long takeoff run ruclips.net/user/shortsG_VUINV7Evk?feature=share
i once heard in a small museum that the storck could fly backwards if the winds had the rigth strength.
It’s the original Scrappy STOL
@@mgbrv8 May have been. My dad's a former naval aviator who used to take my brother and me all around Central Texas to airshows and museums.
This aircraft is amazing. It has the ability to hoover in place when it faces the wind. I have witnessed this amazing feature during Athens Flying Week!
a piper cub will do the same. if the windspeed is greater than the groundspeed an aircraft will hover in place or even go backwards.
@@a-fl-man640 Yeah and it's really interesting.
Hoover in place...?...Is it an aircraft or a vaccum...?
@@willdavis5332 I would trade my vacuum cleaner for a Storch! Hover is the correct word!
@@willdavis5332 Vaccum? I thought vacuums were referred to as "it" not "he"
There was a Storch at the small airport in the town in which I grew up. We’d see it flying overhead on nice weekend days and always gave it a wave and got a wing wiggle back a few times. It could fly at almost 0 knots relative ground speed when flying to a small headwind. That was always fun to watch.
At Swartkops Air Force base I saw the SAAF museum Fieseler actually hovering for about 10 seconds in a slight headwind, just before touchdown. That was awesome.
I talked to a Storch pilot one time and he said "with strong enough wind it can fly backwards" 😅
thank you very much for the wonderful presentation of our stork, which hatched from its egg in kassel in 1936. it is available in a wide variety of variants and also in original ones. here in kassel there is a community that cares for the little bird. among other things, a certified pilot who restores the original stork from 1943 and continues to fly it. get in touch with me, I will organize the contact.
The Morane-Saulnier company in France produced these in quite large numbers upto the mid 1960's they are called the Criquet the later ones usually with a radial engine and are still a fairly common sight especially in France, it is a fantastic plane and with a head wind it can fly slow enough for someone to run along at the same speed! it is a huge aeroplane close up, especially when next to a Cub
Was used during the Indochina war. Not sure the fabric was adapted to this theater.
France continued to build and operate civil Storchs post war. It was converted to a radial engine and called the "Criquet.".
If only spain and france had continued with building ww2 German aircraft, im sure itd have become a very lucrative business.
It may be apocryphal, but I read somewhere that even though they were often loitering over the battlefield doing artillery spotting, relatively few Fi-156s were shot down by flak. It would be a really bad idea for a flak gun to reveal it's position by taking pot-shots at someone while he's on the phone to an artillery battery - they'd just be inviting an immediate plastering by counter-battery fire.
General rule by all sides was don't piss off a spotter plane.......ring the Airforce to get them to deal with it
Plus, the pilots usually flew them only meters above treetop height
I wonder if loitering might have been their way to spot the flak sites.
You what that means its almost as if the storch is armed with an artillery gun the same way a p47 might carry a bomb for example
Funny thought, imagine a storch trying to lug around an artillery piece as its main armament lol
Thanks for the detailed background on the designer Mr. Fieseler! While I'm very familiar with the aircraft I had no idea Fieseler himself was a high scoring WWI pilot & stunt flier. I'm wanting to know more now, eg. how a pilot ends up a design engineer, or if he was an engineer before becoming a pilot....
Fieseler was a self taught engineer. However he wasn't the only WW1 pilot to transition to aeronautical design. Another German ace- Walter Blume- studied aeronautical engineering in the interwar period, joined Arado as their chief designer, and designed the Ar 234, the world's first jet bomber.
Also responsible for the VI.
@@masteronone2079 The V-1 was designed by German Arms engineers with Fieseler being awarded the contract to build it using components made by other manufactures.
@@billwilson3609 His name was on it. Madelung and Schmidt might have had a bright idea that Robert Lusser turned into a set of drawerings and so on down the line but Feisler and the company with his name on it had their hands out for the dirty money to build the airframes and organise the slave labour to assemble them. Credit where credits due.
@@masteronone2079 Each V-1 cost the German government 5030 RM to produce. Britain gave one to the US Army that was fairly intact after doing a belly landing and it's timed detonator failed to work. The engineers at Langley drew up blueprints of it's components and had copies of the V-1 made for $600 apiece for testing purposes. That makes me wonder about Feisler's price tag for the Fi 156 since it was way more complicated than the Pipers and Stinsons that the US Army was using.
Missed a major feature of this plane. It's folding wings allowed it to be trailered behind ground vehicles to save wear and tear, and gas.
You have another legendary aircraft on the reel: Hs126. Though its not as renown as Storch, it was used for same purpose and was produced in equal numbers.
Because he’s very sloppy about which images he shows
Yep
Nice video...
...but some pictures shows the Henschel Hs126, not the Fi156 !
Ya, could've pre screened the footage better
@@Litauen-yg9ut He does this ALL the time! VERY bad editing!
And I spotted also a Piper
as a ww2 aviation, armor, and somewhat naval fanboy...as well as all thing military and history in general, i LOVE this channel
I had read about these planes for years and watched videos of their abilities finally saw one in person at the museum in Chino and it was a beautiful as I had imagined! I did a lot of flying for my company in a number of different planes but the last 12 years were in Mooneys and they were wonderful planes to fly. Flying for the company everything was on a schedule and the days of flying just for the pleasure of flying were few and unfortunately far between. One of these planes would be so fun to fly, I would never be on a schedule and not have to worry about speed and weather/icing, if the weather gets crappy just land and spend the night wherever you are. I think about this and I lost a lot of time enjoying flying because it was so absolutely regulated it seems in every way! I think a plane like this would bring that freedom feeling back!
Would be great if had a modern version of the Fi 156
Amazing Aeroplane
Always my favorite WWII aircraft, since I was a little kid. I always admired its relative simplicity, durability, and extreme STOL capability. And I liked it's great pilot/passenger visibility.
I realized its importance as a scout, and specialty missions, combined with ease of flight and maneuverability. All my friends were into performance fighters/escorts, and the Stuka.
I actually flew one on a simulator. It was exactly what I expected. 😁
If you are in the UK the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden Airfield have one and it is often displayed look for the flying programme on the Net
The Storch actually was rather complicated design that cost a considerable amount of RM to produce which resulted in small numbers being manufactured during the war.
Well that was news for me. I never knew Fieseler was an ace ! Let alone a renowned aviator and stunt pilot. I guess it's because I rarely do much research into the Eastern Front of WW1 maybe this is a lesson to pay more attention to it.
At 7:45 that not a Storch. That's an American made Piper PA18 or one of it's variants. Easily recognizable by the suspension cross between the lading gear. It's also a post war model, because the J3 predecessor had an open-cowl with the cylinder heads exposed to the airstream.
Military Aviation Museum has had 2, both flying. Amazing plane. It will hover and fly backwards in the right conditions. Amazing plane, with a great design.
Where in the USA or GB?
@@lajosbakk3317 USA, Pungo area of Virginia Beach.
@@chuck.reichert83 thanks
I saw one of these fly at an airshow many years ago. It took off and landed in a space about equivalent to the length of a 1975 Chrysler Imperial.
I remember my grandpa tellling stories from the Eastern Front, where he fought as an Infrantry Sergeant. One story was when he and his men were watching a Fieseler Storch dodging escaping a Soviet fighter plane. He told this with great admiration for the nimbleness of the plane and it must have been an impressive sight, at least that was the way he told it. Thank you for this video!
I remember the Airfix kit of the Storch back in the 1960's. Nice kit but fragile in a ten year olds hands!
Mine was painted in desert camo. Happy days!
You can get this in 1:32nd scale now.
@@garypalmer1122 Who makes that, please?
@@robertbate5790 Hasegawa makes a 1/32 Storch
I have the Academy 1/72 built in Eastern Front camo.
IIRC they could even be delivered in mule/horse/cart/team transportable packages that could be easily and quickly assembled with basic tools anywhere.
Great video - The Storch has always been one of my favorite aircraft. It must be a delight to fly due to its versatility.
Nice video, thanks! The Storch is an amazing aircraft which should be used in some variant and capacity today, especially for search & rescue, for example...
_The stork's habitat is now occupied by the whirlybird _*_. . ._*
Helicopters and drones, my friend, helicopters and drones. And dont forget satelites.
Met a German pilot years ago who flew the Storch during WW11. Humble man.
Considering how useful it was, I am surprised it did not have a post war career in the civilian market.
It did, Morraine Sauliner produced them into the 60's under the name "Criquet".
There are still quite a lot operating in France, built postwar with a radial engine
A fella my Dad used to work with was a reconnaissance photographer in one of these during the war. Ol' Manfred said he was shot down twice, but made it out with minor injuries both times.
This plane was so basic it was an anomaly. Literally just a wing and a fuselage. Absolutely incredible.
A plane that has legions of fans, darn few of who ever actually piloted it.
Saw one flying at Duxford a few years ago.
That plane flew like a helicopter, It must have a 0mph stalling speed, I mean, it literallty was still, not even moving forward hardly, just hanging in the air on it's propeller pointing upwards almost vertically . Never seen a fixed wing aircraft do anything like that.
Damn amazing plane and great flying by the pilot too.
Call me Mrs Nitpicky if you will, but the Storch was used for battlefield observation, yes, but not so much recconnaisance, which was mostly carried out by the FW 189. The Hs126 had been intended for the battlefield observation and two-seat recconnaisance role, but was found to be too vulnerable in a lot of situations. Amusingly, the Storch had better survivability than the Hs 126 because of its superb slow-flyng ability - a test was conducted early on in which a Bf109 tried to get a firing solution on a Storch, in order to see how vulnerable it was. To everyones surprise, the pilot of the Storch managed to evade every dummy attack made, which caused some minor political ructions to do with the Bf109.
The US Army used Piper and Stinson observation aircraft that dodged enemy fighters by diving down to tree-top level to fly real slow. That forced the fighter pilot to reduce his speed to line up his sights but few bothered since that could put them into a stall at too low of an altitude to recover from.
Do you know where I can find info on this test? I am writing a WW2 novel with the central character, a fictional Storch pilot, the novel includes the pilot successfully manouvering to avoid being shot down by Sturmovich pilots, but I am don't know what tactics were employed, it is only a guess, but this was possibly done by the pilot side slipping and decreasing altitude once the faster aircraft began its run, not being able to turn quickly enough to adjust his sights back onto the Storch. This is only in my imagination, so not sure if this tactic was used. I have been intrigued with the Storch since a teen when I bought an Airfix Storch kit plane.
As always, great video. Let's hear some more about Hanna Reitsch. One of the best pilots of all time.
It was a good use of mixing many triangles between the front wheels, fuselage, and the extra long wings.
He keeps trolling us with the Henschel 126!
Monty and other Allied Generals had their own captured Storchs. Cool aircraft
I am fond of liaison aircraft and this one is at the very top of the list. Highly versatile! The AN-2 is right up there too. Annie is more versatile and only requires a little more runway.
I love the narration... the person who narrates these videos has a captivating voice and is absolutely perfect for these Dark channels... Bravo!
My grandfather, Perry Schreffler Lt. Col. B17 pilot In the 8th AF, 305th Bomb Group had an original Storch that he donated to National Air & Space museum.... I solo'd illegally in the Storch at 9 yrs old out of Santa Paula airport.... I flew all his planes with no license at least once lol ... Nothing compared to his. 350hp experimental rated Jungmeister he imported from Hungary with Myra Slovak... I even met Erich Hartman a few times. . . The Storch. Is a dope ass plane . Cool video
Quite surprised that no one is making a copy of this remarkable plane today.Could see it being a great plane for places like Alaska or other places with short dirt strips or as a trainer as it was apparently a very easy plane to fly.
Did you see the legs on that thing? Bush plane
They where produced into the late 1950s. But after that the small benefits over say a DHC-2 where better filled by Helicopters
Excellent stuff bro.
As usual, an interesting video spoilt only by a few incorrect photos. Like the Henschel 126 a couple of times and even a glimpse of a Piper (Grasshopper? J2?).
Incidentally, the Miles Messenger could fly slower than a Storch. And a single prototype Storch had retractable leading edge slats, but all production types had fixed slats. Morane, who had been making Storches during WW2 continued post war but in the absence of that elegant little Argosy engine mounted an ugly Salmson radial and called it MS505. This engine installation consumed more fuel however. You can often see one of these at French airshows.
I seem to have read somewhere that the B model had adjustable forward slats on the wings, but this was not included in the C model. I guess the advantages did not warrant the extra expense, or, it slowed production.
What a great design and versatile aircraft. I may be wrong but some clips appear to be of the Henshel 126?
I met a German WWII fighter pilot years ago. I asked him which plane he liked the best of the ones he flew. He said The Fiesler Storch. At the time I expected to hear 109 or 190 etc
The 156 continued in production post war in the French factory
What a fabulous design. It did exactly what it was meant to. It's a shame that they do not still make them.
I could see such a vehicle as the commercial version to be useful for people in Bush type situations where there is not really a better way to get to these areas. The wings only look long due to how skinny they are and how narrow the fuselage is.
Put them back into production please. Thank you.
I wish videos would use imperial measurements when describing performance. The US and UK still use them for this context. 👍
A flying jeep, the Storch was the extreme in utility during and after WWII. An adventure book that I don't remember the title of (last twenty years or so I think) practically featured this plane. The US Aeronca L3C was similar in utility.
I would like to read that book, if you can think of the title. I am writing a mhistory novel with the central character a Storch pilot, set in WW2. Written around real events and real people, but the pilot and his missions are fictional. Done about 100 pages so far. Want to have a flight in a Storch, so I can describe accurately how it flies for the novel. There is one being restored within driving distance from where I live and have visited the hangar. The chief engineer told me it is 90% complete with 99% to go! It looks fully assembled.
Great video! As always.
I once read an article about a US Army light aircraft pilot that was tasked to check out the capabilities of a few captured Fi 156's. He said it was easy to fly though the controls became heavy during turns and with the nose down to lose altitude. Said he slipped it over into a turning dive to find he needed the strength of Hercules to push and pull on the controls to get out of the dive and level off. He also said one needed to be a hot-shot daredevil pilot to attempt low speed landings on short roads and fields.
Truly amazing STOL capabilities capable of multiple take off and landings every few aircraft lengths
It is nice to see a Plane featured, that was build here in Kassel. I live just 7km away from the former Fieseler Werke!
Great work Sir thank you
Love this plane. Thanks for the video.
There is one major episode missing: The Swiss airforce conducted the first airborne rescue mission from the Gauli glacier in 1946 with two Fieseler storchs equipped with skis. They saved 12 people - including the family of a US general - from certain death as on the same day of the rescue a blizzard engulfed the crash site of their DC 3 and covered the wreck in eternal ice. This was the birth of airborne alpine rescue service.
We must give credit when it is do. Germany certainly did not lack in engineering during World War Two. Storch was, as shown in the video, a great aircraft for its purposes.
Still does not lack in Engineering prowess.
Ah the Storch, reminds me of one example hanging under the Roof in Kassel Railway Station saw it last time in early 90s, the Fieselers aircraftplant near Kassel produced Storchs during the was plus license built 109s and Fw190.
This thing reminds me of the turboprop super STOL before it was wrecked. Imagine a super cub with 200+ hp!
Draco?
Excellent plane. I have seen the one at POF in Chino. Sits quietly with it's wings folded.
5:28 ~ Damn, that look on his face suggests there was a flying burger going by.
A very unique air craft
Kermit Weeks owns a Storch & has made at least one if not more great videos of him flying it.
Love the channel and channels and your voice is good for it you talk with kinda a mono tone over old footage I can't explain it but it's perfect keep up the good work we all appreciate it 👍
Would be neat to see a video on the westland lysander that was used to transport soe agents from the uk into europe often under cover of darkness landing in random fields.
Sometimes the smallest of vehicles make a big difference. Like the American Willys Jeep, today regarded as crucial for the US success in Germany.
As was the 2.5 ton truck...and the C47 aircraft....
I wasn't aware of the Storchs being used on the Fort Eben Emael raid (8:27), particularly as it wasn't particularly known as a troop carrier or for paratroops, being only a 3 seater. Most of that raid was carried out by the DFS230 glider.
And you completely missed the fact that it was this exact airplane that was able to rescue the crash of the 1946 c53 crash on the gauli glacier.
"Best WW2 aircraft of its kind." The war was over by 1946so, nothing missed.
@@randytaylor1258 Hmmm.... Taking Operation Paperclip into consideration, it could be argued that WW-2 went on for quite a long time after 1945.
@@randytaylor1258 It was utilized most in World War II that doesn't mean it had to be used just during World War II. The P-51 Mustang was probably the best World War II aircraft of ITS type, however it was used in our armed forces a few years after World War II... And as the comment above mentions, it could be argued that World War II went on for quite a few years after it officially ended, with Operation Paperclip.
As for Mussolini, it was an FA-223 Helo that was assigned to try his Rescue, but, it had mechanical issues. Thus, the "Storch" stepped into the role. Considering the Terrain, it was a very risky 'pick-up', very, very near to even this plane's STOL take-off limits.
Auch wenn zu oft die Henschel Hs 126 gezeigt wird, ein guter Beitrag.
Don't forget the legacy of the stork. The Stork influenced many light aircrafts design today, including Cessna, Piper, ect with its STOL capabilities and high wing that ease of cargo and pasanger.
A few inaccuracies, musolini was freed willingly by his captors, the plane took off from cheers by both german and Italian soldiers
Maybe next do the Henschel 126.
Fiesler also produced a small number of the Fi167 carrier borne torpedo bomber, which had good STOL qualities too. Not many were made due to the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin being cancelled.
Great video, as usual!!! I've seen the Storch displayed before but I'd really like to see it displayed with a similar aircraft such as the Bird Dog to compare short takeoffs and low speed capabilities etc.
I think they sometimes display the Storch with an L-4 Cub at The Shuttleworth Collection in Biggleswade UK
Now I'll know what I want for Christmas
It would be interesting, on one of your YT channels, to produce a video about the Kubelwagen. (From Canada).
Great video!! But as usual Skorzeny steals the show. A heroic man..from any way you look at history
He was responsible for atrocities in the Ardennes. Daring maybe, but not heroic.
@@randytaylor1258 Yeah, he lived a charmed life after the war in Spain
Speaking of scouting planes. A video on the Focke-Wulf 189 Uhu would be interesting.
The guys who flew these kinds of missions had giant balls. I love the story of the grasshopper pilot who had bazookas attached to his plane. 😮
Saw Fotos of Bücker 181 with Panzerfausts under their Wings, in Vietnam some FACs armed their Bird Dogs with side firing M-60 MG Gunshipstyle
I think that pilot got decorated by Patton
The War Eagles Air Museum is Santa Teresa, NM, they have one of these Air Plane.
You should have mentioned the rescue of the crew and passengers of a crashed DC3 right after WWII in Switzerland in blizzard conditions. The authorities did not want to admit that a Nazi plane was used for the rescue!
Great point. I also mentioned that before I read your comment
I saw a picture of one that had Panzerfausts mounted on the wings just like the American pilot that mounted bazookas on his Piper Cub.
They used gliders not Storchs for the raid on the Gran Sasso. One impacted the cliff losing all on board.
How did they take off again afterwards?
Fantasy of flight flew a storch offering passengers a seat at $75.00 for a 15 minute go. It's a beautiful aircraft. Many of the German planes used such interesting glazing.
This Channel is awesome
Interesting video.
But why, when referencing the Storch, show clips of other random aircraft??
It's not like there's a ton of footage.
I saw several shots of a Henschel HS-126, in there. Never seen footage of that type before - it's the German equivalent of the Westland Lysander - so I'm not complaining.
Nothing so humble about the Albatross D-5.
As history records it, The partisans knew that the shock troops w/Scorzeni (sp) were coming and told not to resist and gave up Il Duce readily. Yes the Storch was over burdened because Scorzeni wanted the publicity and rode along when he was supposed to stay back w/his trooos. Incredibly versatile machine that...
The storch was used in Operation Tombola to evacuate wounded SAS soldier Mike Lees. Seems Roy Farran could get just about anything into and out of a battle zone.
there are so many other types shown in this video it's surprising there is no Auster au7 or westland Lysander !
Amazing aircraft. Check out the Westland Lysander. Same job but much more robust.
Just a great airplane.
Dark Skies... "Let´s do a piece on an aeroplane" ¨... "Researchers" .. "Let´s go to the random mixed up tutti frutti selection of WWII aircraft types and lets post them at random" -Every. Single.Time.
that thing was about as close to a helicopter as you can get. great plane.
Now you gotta do a video about the Lysander and the piper j2 cub or maybe the PC6 turbo porter
I love watching these videos however Henschel 126 spotter plane (Subsituted by Fw-198) is shown as Fi-156 for several times. Both planes have high wing configuration with long landing gears.
AVM Harry Broadhurst used a Stir h as his personal aircraft and it participated in the Normandy invasion comply with invasion stripes. This is probably the Storch that Churchill flew in as it looks like Broadhurst with him.