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Modeling for MSFS24: Fieseler Storch Fi156 – Swiss Air Force A-96 – Aircraft Liveries for MSFS | Flightsim.to
History
Excerpt from the document “Series: History of the Swiss Air Force—Decommissioned Assets of the Swiss Air Force,” published by the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection, and Sports (VBS) (translation by Deepl):
“General Data
Developer: Gerhard Fieseler, Aircraft Designer, Kassel, Germany
Manufacturer: Fieseler-Flugzeugbau GmbH, Kassel-Bettenhausen, Germany
Year of Manufacture: 1939 to 1947
Intended Use: Material transport, liaison, observation, and medical evacuation aircraft
Crew: 1 pilot, 1 observer, or 1 passenger
In service: 1940 to 1963
Number of aircraft: 5
Registration numbers: HB-ARU, A-96 through A-100
About the Fieseler Fi 156
The Fieseler Fi 156 is a propeller-driven aircraft whose prototype made its maiden flight on April 1, 1936. It was developed and built at the Gerhard Fieseler Works in Kassel. The aircraft was nicknamed “Storch” (Stork) because of its high-mounted, rigid landing gear.
It was developed for extreme short takeoff and landing capabilities—now known as STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing)—to serve as a liaison, reconnaissance, and medical evacuation aircraft. On September 12, 1943, SS-Hauptsturmführer Otto Skorzeny rescued the Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini from captivity in a hotel on the summit of Gran Sasso in the Abruzzo region by landing a Fieseler Storch on the tiny terrace behind the hotel. Total production reached 2,900 units. After World War II, several hundred more Fi 156 Storch were built in France and Czechoslovakia as the Morane-Saulnier M.S.500, M.S.501, M.S.502 Criquet, M.S.505, and Mraz K.65 Cap.
The aircraft was used in Switzerland to carry out a wide variety of transport tasks. It also marked the beginning of actual high-altitude mountain and glacier landings. The Swiss “Fieseler Storch” became world-famous for their role in the rescue operation on the Gauli Glacier (3200 m above sea level).
Starting in 1958, the seven Dornier Do 27H2 STOL aircraft procured for the Air Force replaced the Fieseler Fi 156.”
Sauvetage sur le glacier du Gauli 1946 – SwissMilSim
Wikipedia: Fieseler Fi 156 Storch – Wikipedia
The Fieseler Storch – Swiss Storch Team
Technical Specifications
Max. speed: 175 km/h
Max. rate of climb: 8 m/s
Max. operating altitude: 5,300 m/M
Flight duration: 4 hrs 30 min
Range: 600 km
Airframe type: Strut-braced high-wing aircraft, steel-tube fuselage, wooden wings, fabric-covered
Length: 9.90 m
Height: 3.05 m
Wingspan: 14.25 m
Empty weight: 860 kg to 1,040 kg
Payload: 380 kg to 460 kg
Max. takeoff weight: 1,320 kg to 1,420 kg (depending on model)
Engine: Argus As-10 E/1
Equipment: Radio, split wings, landing flaps, wheel brakes, skis, parachute, cargo gripper, tropical equipment
Armament
Guns: 1 × MG 15 machine gun (non-operational)
The Storks of the Swiss Air Force
“A 96: Serial No. 4299, HB-ARU, built in 1939 Manufacturer: Fieseler-Flugzeugbau GmbH, Kassel, D 14/63. Shortly before the outbreak of war, the Aero-Gesellschaft St. Gallen acquired this Fi 156C with serial number 4299 in 1939; it was used for sightseeing flights in the mountains under the registration HB-ARU. As early as 1940, the Air Force requisitioned this Fi 156, but it was not until July 12, 1943, that it received its military registration number A-99. In 1965, the Fi 156 was finally transferred to the Deutsches Museum in Munich, where it remains on display today
A-97: Serial No. 8063, CN + EL, built in 1943. Manufacturer: Fieseler-Flugzeugbau GmbH, Kassel, Germany. Made an emergency landing in Samedan on March 19, 1943, during a flight from Munich to Bari due to bad weather; purchased from Germany in 1944. In 1965, it was transferred to the Swiss Museum of Transport, Lucerne
A-98: Serial No. 1144, TI + VR, year of manufacture 1943, manufacturer: Fieseler-Flugzeugbau GmbH, Waldau, Germany. Emergency landing in Samedan on March 19, 1943, during a flight from Munich to Bari due to bad weather; purchased from Germany in 1944,
A-99: Serial No. 770, built in 1947. Manufacturer: Morane-Saulnier, Aircraft Manufacturing, Puteaux, F (licensed production). Purchased from France in 1948 (brand-new), equipped with an air-cooled Argus As10C V8 engine with a takeoff power of 240 PS.
A-100: Serial No. 1685, RN + VJ, built in 1944; manufacturer: Fieseler-Flugzeugbau GmbH, Waldau, Germany. Landed on May 8, 1945, at 7:10 p.m. in a meadow near Chur (GR), arriving from Hungary. This Fieseler Fi 156C-3 Storch is the last aircraft of the German Luftwaffe to have flown into Switzerland during World War II. Purchased from Germany»
Fieseler Storch FI156 Pilot’s Manual EN – SwissMilSim
