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53-627: Morane-Saulnier's first product was the Morane-Borel monoplane , a development of a monoplane design produced by the Morane company (sometimes called Type A) in partnership with Gabriel Borel). Using a wing-warping mechanism for control, this was the type in which Jules Védrines won the Paris-Madrid race on 26 May 1911. Morane-Saulnier's first commercially successful design was the Morane-Saulnier G ,

106-519: A Doppelflügel or "double-wing" aircraft wing control surface. On the Fi 156, this setup along each wing panel's trailing edge was split nearly 50/50 between the inboard-located flaps and outboard-located ailerons , which, in turn, included trim tab devices over half of each aileron's trailing edge length. This combination of flaps and slats has been heavily attributed for the aircraft's favourable STOL performance. An uncommon feature for land-based aircraft

159-649: A heavier aircraft, which required as much as three times the field for landing and take off as the German Fi 156C (160 m vs 55 m), it also had much greater range and increased load capability. After the conflict, Antonov went on to design the legendary An-2 STOL biplane, which also has excellent STOL performance. In 1944, production was moved from the Leichtbau Budweis to the Mráz factory in Choceň which produced 138 examples of

212-463: A long-legged, big-winged bird. As a product of its relatively low landing speed, the Storch often gave the appearance of landing vertically, or even backwards, when flying directly into strong winds. The aircraft was typically crewed by three personnel seated with its enclosed cabin, which was extensively glazed as to provide generous external views. The structure was composed of welded steel tubing while

265-656: A medic. A prototype was constructed in Factory No. 365, established on the basis of Lithuanian Military Aviation Works , in Kaunas , recently occupied Lithuania . The first prototype however was built in Factory No. 23 in Leningrad and flew before the end of 1940. The production in Kaunas has just started as the factory was lost to the German advance in 1941. While Antonov's efforts had produced

318-783: A military capacity across various theatres of the Second World War . The Fi 156 was extensively operated by the Luftwaffe , who often used it in the aerial reconnaissance role and less often as a troop transport. German aircraft saw action on the Eastern Front , Western Front , the Western Desert , and even the Arctic . During September 1943, the Storch played a pivotal role in Operation Eiche ,

371-490: A new aircraft for the Luftwaffe that was to be suitable for the roles of liaison , army co-operation (today called forward air control ), and medical evacuation . The German aircraft manufacturer Fieseler quickly took an interest in the new requirement and opted to produce its own clean sheet design, which was largely conceived of by chief designer Reinhold Mewes and technical director Erich Bachem . This new aircraft, which

424-407: A pair of wheels on a cross-axle bound to the skids by bungee cords , and a tailskid. A two-seat version was later produced, with the fuselage lengthened to 7.0 m (23 ft) and wingspan increased to 10 m (34 ft). The Monoplane achieved fame when Jules Védrines flew one to victory in the 1911 Paris-to-Madrid air race , the only competitor to finish the four-day course. Later in

477-456: A wire-braced shoulder-wing monoplane with wing warping. This led to the development of a series of aircraft and was very successful in racing and setting records. The Type G was a 2-seater, and was reduced slightly in size to produce the Morane-Saulnier H , a single-seater, and was given a faired fuselage to produce the Morane-Saulnier N single-seat fighter. The Morane-Saulnier H was modified so that its wings were mounted parasol fashion, above

530-504: The Armée de l'Air . The resulting batch of aircraft produced with the remaining stock of Argus air-cooled inverted V8 engines were designated MS 500 Criquet . Aircraft with further modifications and different engines ( inline and radial ) received various different type numbers. The use of the aircraft in Indochina highlighted the weakness of wood for the construction of the airframe; thus it

583-485: The Canada Aviation Museum . From: [1] l'Aérophile , 15 April 1911, p. 170 General characteristics Performance Fieseler Storch The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch ( [ʃtɔrç] , " stork ") is a liaison aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Fieseler . Its nickname of Storch was derived from the lengthy legs of its main landing gear , which gave

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636-658: The General Staff , had their own Fi 156s, including Field Marshals Albert Kesselring and Erwin Rommel . Throughout the Second World War, the Fi 156 was deployed in quantity to virtually all theatres that Nazi Germany was militarily active upon; as such, it saw usage in the Eastern Front , Western Front , the Western Desert , and even the Arctic . During the German invasion of Belgium , in addition to its more routine usage in

689-635: The Morane-Saulnier factory at Puteaux in France . Due to the demand for Fieseler as a subcontractor for building the Fw 190 , Fi 156 production was shifted to Leichtbau Budweis in Budweis by the end of 1943. Factories in other countries under German control manufactured aircraft, including Fi 156s, for Germany. In 1939, after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , Germany provided several aircraft, including

742-579: The Pazmany PL-9 Stork , RagWing RW19 Stork , and STOL King . The Slepcev Storch and French-built later variants of the original aircraft have often appeared at air shows and other flying events. Numerous flight-worthy aircraft are still operational into the twenty-first century. During 1935, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium ( Reich Aviation Ministry or RLM) issued in invitation to several aviation companies to submit their proposals for

795-574: The Storch to conduct rescue operations in challenging terrain where STOL performance was necessary. One of the more historically significant operations involving the type was the Gauli Glacier crash rescue in November 1946, where a pair of Flugwaffe -flown Storches were the sole means of safely retrieving the twelve survivors of the crash. After the Second World War, numerous aircraft were used in utility roles, including agricultural spraying . Even into

848-520: The Storch , mainly in the form of various three-quarter scale homebuilt aircraft , such as the Pazmany PL-9 Stork , Roger Mann's RagWing RW19 Stork , and Preceptors STOL King . As an example, the Slepcev Storch is a three-quarter scale reproduction of the original with some simplifications. The use of modern materials provides better STOL performance than the original with a take-off run of 30 m and landing-roll of 50 m with no headwind. It

901-420: The empennage consisted of a fixed horizontal stabiliser with tip-mounted full-chord elevators at either end and an aerodynamically balanced rudder , with no fixed vertical surface. In later examples the horizontal surfaces were modified, and consisted of a fixed surface with balanced elevators hinged to the trailing edge. The undercarriage consisted of a pair of short skids, each carried on a pair of struts, and

954-518: The C-2 variant, the Fi 156 was fitted with a raised, fully-glazed position for a flexible rear-firing MG 15 7.92mm machine gun for self-defense. The Storch was extensively operated by the Luftwaffe . Several reconnaissance units operated the type, such as Aufklärungsgruppe 14 and Aufklärungsgruppe 21 . Furthermore, each Geschwader was provided with at least one, if not multiple, Fi 156s. Numerous high ranking German officials, particularly members of

1007-565: The Fi 156, locally designated as "K-65 Čáp". Production ended during 1949. During the Second World War, the French manufacturer Morane-Saulnier was operated under German control, during which time it built a number of German types including the Storch. Immediately after the liberation of France in 1944, the production of the Fi ;156 at the Morane-Saulnier factory was continued at the request of

1060-462: The Fi 156, the Si 201 was a relatively unorthodox aircraft; all three designs were evaluated in depth by officials. The Fi 156 emerged as the favoured submission, in part due to its relatively cheap and straightforward construction offered in its design. On 24 May 1936, the Fi 156 V1, registered D-IKVN , performed its maiden flight ; it was quickly followed by a further four prototypes. From an early stage,

1113-574: The Fi 156C, to the Soviet Union . Oleg Antonov was made responsible for putting the aircraft into production to meet Soviet requirements, and given a choice between designing an equivalent aircraft or merely copying the German design, the latter was selected. The aircraft was titled OKA-38 and two versions were envisaged: the SS three seat liaison aircraft, and the N-2 air ambulance capable of carrying two stretchers plus

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1166-718: The French as war compensation from Germany. Both the French Air Force ( Armée de l'Air ) and the French Army Light Aviation ( Aviation Légère de l'Armée de Terre ) operated the Criquet between 1945 and 1958. Accordingly, the type saw battlefield service in French hands during both the Indochina War and the Algerian War . The Swiss Air Force , as well as several other mountainous European countries, continued to use

1219-633: The German air crew to land and surrender. During the conflict, a number of Störche were captured by the Allies. One became the personal aircraft of British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery . Others were used as the personal aircraft of Air Vice Marshal Arthur Coningham and Air Vice Marshal Harry Broadhurst , who acquired his Storch in North Africa, and flew it subsequently in Italy and North-West Europe. The British captured 145 Fi 156s, of which 64 were given to

1272-475: The Storch played a pivotal role in Operation Eiche , the rescue of deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from a boulder-strewn mountain-top near the Gran Sasso . Even though the mountain was surrounded by Italian troops, German commando Otto Skorzeny and 90 paratroopers used gliders to land on the peak and quickly captured it, then faced the problem of getting back. A Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 helicopter

1325-418: The aircraft a similar appearance to that of the long-legged, big-winged bird. Developed during the mid 1930s in response to a request from the Reichsluftfahrtministerium ( Reich Aviation Ministry or RLM), the Fi 156 was an affordable and easy to construct aircraft purpose designed for the liaison, army co-operation , and medical evacuation roles. On 24 May 1936, the Fi 156 V1 performed its maiden flight ;

1378-433: The arrival of other machine guns, which made the system workable. While flying his modified Type L, Garros crashed on the German side of the lines and the wreckage was examined by Fokker just prior to Fokker producing a similar system. After the war, Morane-Saulnier produced a number of designs for training and general aviation , but with the threat of war in the late thirties it once again turned to military aircraft. During

1431-617: The company had envisioned two different production versions, the Fi 156A and Fi 156B , the latter having movable leading edge slots instead of the formers' fixed slot arrangement. The first production standard aircraft were delivered in early 1937. About 2,900 Fi 156s, the majority being of the Fi 156C model, were produced between 1937 and 1945. The principal production line was at the Fieseler Factory in Kassel . During 1942, production started in

1484-442: The covering was fabric . Both the tail unit and wings were composed of wood, the latter being clad in plywood . The Fi 156 had relatively lengthy wings for its size. A fixed slat ran along the entire length of the wing's leading edge while a hinged and slotted set of control surfaces ran along the entire length of trailing edge . This arrangement was allegedly inspired by an earlier Junkers wing design concept, referred to as

1537-566: The daring rescue. On 26 April 1945, a Storch was one of the last aircraft to land on the improvised airstrip in the Tiergarten near the Brandenburg Gate during the Battle of Berlin and the death throes of Nazi Germany . It was flown by the test pilot Hanna Reitsch , who flew Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim from Munich to Berlin to answer a summons from Hitler. A Storch

1590-525: The end of the conflict, production of the type continued in other countries into the 1950s, both for the private market and military operators. In addition to Germany, additional production lines had been established in France, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and the Soviet Union. Furthermore, there have been many attempts to recreate or imitate the Fi 156, including several three-quarter scale homebuilt aircraft , such as

1643-447: The first deliveries took place less than a year later. It was well regarded for its excellent short field ( STOL ) performance and low stalling speed of 50 km/h (31 mph). Around 2,900 aircraft of various models, the most commonplace being the Fi 156C , were produced between 1937 and 1945. The Fi 156 quickly became popular on the export market, eventually being widely used by various nations. Numerous countries deployed their aircraft in

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1696-510: The fuselage to afford the observer a better view, creating the Morane-Saulnier L . The L was then fitted with a faired fuselage as on the N and ailerons to make the Morane-Saulnier LA , which was then completely redesigned (though looking very similar) to make the Morane-Saulnier P which would be the basis for a whole family of aircraft developed in the 1920s. The Type N was developed into the larger and more powerful Morane-Saulnier I and

1749-454: The late 1920s and early 1930s, it produced a number of parasol wing fighters including the M.S.230 and M.S.315 , but all were of limited performance and were relegated to training duties. Morane-Saulnier had much more success with its dramatically modernized M.S.406 , which was the French Air Force 's most numerous fighter at the start of the war. The 406 was advanced only at the time of its introduction in 1935, and suffered terribly against

1802-601: The liaison role, around 100 Fi 156s were used to transport a battalion of Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland , two men per aircraft, landing on a stretch of road behind enemy lines (Operation Niwi). During the North African campaign , the Afrika Korps made routine use of the Storch both for transportation and to conduct aerial surveillance. It was also operated by a pair of dedicated desert rescue squadrons to retrieve stranded pilots in this theatre. During September 1943,

1855-401: The main landing gear was furnished with both oil and spring-based shock absorbers that had a travel of 40 cm (15-3/4 inches), sufficient to permit landings to be conducted on comparatively rough and uneven surfaces; this was combined with a "pre-travel" distance of 20 cm, before the oleos began damping the landing gear shock. While initial models were unarmed, starting with

1908-596: The more modern Messerschmitt Bf 109s it faced in 1940. During World War II, Morane-Saulnier was operated under German control and built a number of German types including the Fieseler Storch , known after the war as the Morane-Saulnier MS.500 Criquet. Morane-Saulnier also produced a number of trainer and civilian aircraft models, the best known of which was the successful "Rallye" series of four-seat STOL semi-aerobatic tourers (see picture above). Morane-Saulnier

1961-566: The rescue of deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from a boulder-strewn mountain-top near the Gran Sasso . On 26 April 1945, a Storch was one of the last aircraft to land on the improvised airstrip in the Tiergarten near the Brandenburg Gate during the Battle of Berlin . During the conflict, a number of Störche were captured by the Allies; several were used as the personal aircraft of high ranking officers such as Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery , Air Vice Marshal Arthur Coningham , and Air Vice Marshal Harry Broadhurst . Even after

2014-407: The retronym Morane-Saulnier Type A or simply the Morane monoplane ; company designation Bo.1 ) was an early French single-engine, single-seat aircraft. It was flown in several European air races. The Monoplane was a mid-wing tractor configuration monoplane powered by a 50 hp Gnome Omega seven-cylinder rotary engine driving a two-bladed Chauvière Intégrale propeller. The fuselage

2067-692: The twenty-first century, numerous Storches have remained operational, the type has become a common sight at air shows. In North America, both the Collings Foundation and the Fantasy of Flight museum have airworthy Fi 156 Storch aircraft in their collections. Data from The Warplanes of the Third Reich General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Note: Official RLM designations had

2120-465: The type's nickname. Most of these types had no fixed fin, or horizontal stabilizer , with the result that they were not only very sensitive on the controls, but also could not even be flown hands off. One early pilot noted that if one left the aircraft to its own devices it would end up going upside down in the opposite direction. Despite this, many were used as trainers, including a great many that had their wings stripped so they couldn't fly, creating what

2173-537: The very similar Morane-Saulnier V , but these were not successful, being too powerful and having inadequate controls. The V was then redesigned to create the Morane-Saulnier AC which substituted ailerons for wing warping and had a strut-braced wing. The AC was not particularly successful, in part because of poor field of view a shoulder-mounted wing produced, so the Morane-Saulnier AI was developed, in which

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2226-686: The wing was raised above the fuselage. The AI lost out in the competition to the SPAD XIII but was built in limited numbers in case there was a problem with the SPAD; as it turned out it was the AI that suffered structural problems. In parallel to the L the Morane-Saulnier BB was developed for the RFC, which was a Type P built as a biplane. Because the type 'BB' when pronounced in French sounds like Bebe (or baby), this became

2279-548: The year he came second in the Circuit of Britain , flying an aircraft powered by a 70 hp Gnome . Another was flown by André Frey in the Paris-Rome race in 1911, finishing third. Emile Taddéoli was another owner of a Morane monoplane. A two-seat version, powered by an 80 Gnome was entered for the 1912 British Military Aeroplane Competition . As of 2007 a single example remained extant, undergoing conservation work at

2332-405: Was a rectangular-section wire-braced box girder, with the forward part covered in plywood and the rear part fabric covered: the rear section was left uncovered in some examples. The two-spar wings had elliptical ends and were braced by a pyramidal cabane in front of the pilot and an inverted V-strut underneath the fuselage, behind the undercarriage. Lateral control was effected by wing warping and

2385-481: Was decided to build the wings out of metal instead. Among the modifications, the defensive weapon aiming through the back window was dropped, although some aircraft were modified in the field to take a MAC 34T machine gun firing through one of the side windows. Some 141 aircraft were built before the end of the Second World War while a total of 925 aircraft were built before the end of the production of all types of Criquet by Morane-Saulnier in 1965. Licence production

2438-464: Was known as a Penguin. The Type L has the distinction of being the first fighter aircraft used during World War I when one was fitted with a machine gun firing through the propeller, which was fitted with metal plates to deflect any bullets that struck it. This was flown with success by Roland Garros , who would later be considered to be the first French Ace . A similar system was fitted to the Type N pending

2491-506: Was originally designed and manufactured in Australia and is now manufactured in Serbia. The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch was a high-wing monoplane that was particularly effective in terms of its short take off and landing (" STOL ") performance. Its nickname of Storch was derived from the lengthy legs of its main landing gear , which hung down during flight and gave the aircraft the appearance of

2544-604: Was purchased by Potez on 7 January 1962, and became SEEMS , the Societe d'Exploitation des Etablissements Morane-Saulnier . In 1966 its civilian models were spun off to form SOCATA , the Societe de Construction d'Avions de Tourisme et d'Affaires , which was eventually purchased by Aérospatiale . The company and Saulnier himself had a significant role in the development of the concept of synchronising machine gun fire through an aircraft's propeller. Morane-Borel monoplane The Morane-Borel monoplane (sometimes referred to with

2597-402: Was sent, but it broke down en route. Instead, pilot Heinrich Gerlach flew in a Storch . It landed in 30 m (100 ft), and after Mussolini and Skorzeny boarded, it took off after a run of 80 m (250 ft), even though the aircraft was overloaded. The Storch used in rescuing Mussolini bore the radio code letters, or Stammkennzeichen , of "SJ + LL" in the motion picture coverage of

2650-758: Was started in Romania in October 1943 at the ICAR factory in Bucharest . Only 10 were built by the time the ICAR factory was bombed in May 1944. Production resumed later that year, but only six were completed before repair work halted production. Between June 1945 and 1946, a further 64 aircraft were built. Production per factory and per type until 31 March 1945: Because of its superb STOL characteristics, there have been many attempts to recreate or copy

2703-501: Was subsequently assigned the Fi 156 designation, was specifically designed to achieve particularly strong short take off and landing (" STOL ") performance. In addition to Fieseler's submission, competing proposals were submitted from various other aircraft manufacturers, including Weser Flugzeugbau and Siebel in the form of the Bf 163 and Si 201 respectively. While the Bf 163 broadly resembled

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2756-470: Was the ability to fold back the wings of the aircraft along the fuselage, which was somewhat similar to the wings of the Royal Navy's Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber ; when folded, the aircraft could be carried on a trailer or even directly towed (albeit slowly) behind a vehicle. The primary hinge for the folding wing was located in the wing root , where the rear wing spar met the cabin. The long legs of

2809-577: Was the final aircraft to be shot down by the Allies on the Western Front, and another was forced down by an L-4 Grasshopper, the military version of the American Piper J-3 Cub civilian training and sport aircraft and a direct Allied counterpart of the Storch. The pilot and co-pilot of the L-4, lieutenants Duane Francis and Bill Martin, opened fire on the Storch with their .45 caliber pistols , forcing

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