Fieseler Fi 156 Storch on offer at Eagles11.com

 

reproduced with the permission of warbird brokers Eagles11.com

"..Fieseler Storch Fi 156 C3 is now exclusively for sale with Eagles Eleven. Owned by “Historiske fly AS Ltd” this rare and very special aircraft spent ten years and over 9000 hours undergoing a meticulous full nut and bolt restoration. Currently on the Norwegian register... 

.... as LN-WNS, and with just 90 hours flown, this much loved Argus-powered Storch is now looking for a new owner with an appreciation for detail and craftsmanship..." 

 A slideshow of 'walkaround' images is available on the Eagles11 web site here

Ritterkreuz award ceremony in the desert - archive photo scan #47

 

Generalmajor Seidemann Fliegerführer Afrika visted Sturzkampfgeschwader 3 during October 1942 to present the RK to Oblt. Hans von Bargen and Oblt. Herbert Stry, successful in 300 Stuka sorties.  Stry's  BF Ofw. Konsorke received the DKiG. 

Also on this blog;

Kriegsberichter  Hans Gross

Kent Battle of Britain museum Fieseler Fi 156 Storch Walkaround

 

You may be aware that the Kent Battle of Britain museum in Hawkinge, Kent (England) has taken delivery of another Luftwaffe airframe from RAF Cosford - a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch. 

" ..The proud Trustees and Volunteers at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum Trust at Hawkinge, a Registered Charity, are very excited and proud to announce their latest acquisition of a Fieseler Fi 156 C-7 Storch to the ever-expanding collection of airframes. For many years the Museum has been searching for several key airframes to add to the Collection and to depict critical aircraft flown during the Battle of Britain including those that would have been seen over Great Britain had Operation Sea Lion taken place..."

Dave Brocklehurst MBE (in blue overalls) and volunteer team after re-assembling the Storch in Hawkinge in late June 2025. 

The Storch is currently outside during July and August where museum visitors can take photographs prior to the aircraft being moved indoors for the winter and a repaint. The Luftwaffe blog was recently given access on an unfortunately rather gloomy evening courtesy of BoB Museum Trust Chairman  Mr Dave Brocklehurst MBE.  Note that although the museum has a no-photography policy, that specifically applies inside the hangars. Airframes currently outside - like the Storch, He 111 and Ju 52  - may be photographed by arrangement. 

 

Dave is of course extremely pleased and excited to have acquired this rare and important airframe. Built by Mraz, at Chocen, Czechoslovakia in 1944, it was one of three Fi 156s that were surrendered at Flensburg, Germany, part of the British Occupation Zone, in May 1945. This particular machine participated in the Battle of Britain Open Day at RAF Hendon in September 1945 where it was flown by Lt/Cmdr. Eric M. ‘Winkle’ Brown, who was a good friend and supporter of the BoB museum. Dave is still mulling over what colour scheme she will carry for 2026 but if decent reference photos can be located it may be repainted to depict the personal aircraft of Generalfieldmarschall Albert Kesselring, the commander of Luftflotte 2 in the Battle of France and Battle of Britain.

This is a great acquisition for local enthusiasts, especially as it comes just prior to the release of a new-tool kit from the brilliant IBG Models (due in 2026). Incidentally the museum shop has the Hasegawa 32nd scale kit in stock. Note that the wheels and some of the cockpit instruments are currently not the original German items..see below

Note the museum's Storch is tied down - the aircraft had a stalling speed of around 30 mph and winds occasionally exceed that in south-east Kent two miles from the coast...

You may also be aware that the National museum of the USAF (Dayton, Ohio) is currently restoring a Fieseler Storch and preparing to put it on display.  The images of the instrument panel come from their FB page..

ECPA-D images from the DAK files. 

Rommel in his machine. The lower image provides a good view of the Kraftstoffstandanzeiger (fuel level indicator) gauge in the lower wing. 

Fieseler Storch of the (Luftwaffe) Sanitäts-Kompanie 220

 

Fieseler Storch of the (Luftwaffe) Sanitäts-Kompanie 220 operating in North Africa, here seen unloading a casualty for onward Ju 52 transport, presumably Sicily or Crete.. A "Sanitäts-Kompanie" was a German medical unit, specifically a medical company, responsible for providing medical care to soldiers in the field, including evacuation to field hospitals. Sanitäts-Kompanien worked closely with other medical units like the "Feldlazarett" (field hospital) and "Kriegslazarett" (war hospital) to ensure a continuum of care for the wounded. A Sanitäts-Kompanie would typically have a couple of Ju 52s and Fi 156s on strength..

More ECPA-D jewels - Fieseler Storch in North Africa, Instapic #15

 

..I've slightly gone off the 'idea' of posting ECPA-D images for a brief period, 24 hours, a series I call 'Instapic'.. Simply put while it brings in viewers, it doesn't stop people lifting the material and doing whatever with it. As I've pointed out recently to Denys Boudard who encounters the same issues. Anytime he posts, within hours 'his' images appear on other sites - notably a certain forum - to view. Seems that the 'owner'- ever ready to accuse others of 'lifting' material - is quite happy to see his 'members' reposting material they have helped themselves to elsewhere! 

So this may be my final 'Instapic' post. As I've said before, if you want to see lots of lovely unpublished, beautifully clear Luftwaffe images (I mean, literally thousands, hundreds of thousands..) book a week at the ECPA-D in Paris. As I did. You get a great welcome and their staff are really helpful. The images that follow are not even in the 'Luftwaffe' files at the ECPA-D (DAK 294).

Rommel climbing into his machine. A good view of the Kraftstoffstandanzeiger (fuel level indicator) gauge in the lower wing. Two images (bottom) show a Stork's wing tank being topped off from a drum.

Fieseler Fi 156 Storch Kennung BP+OW Wintertarn camo - Ebay photo find #327

on offer here

Desert Storks - Wüstennotstaffel eArticle Air War Publications- reference for the Hasegawa/Revell Fi 156 32nd scale

 The Wüstennotstaffel was a rather unique Luftwaffe unit - a "desert rescue squadron". Equipped with the remarkable Fieseler Fi 156 'Storch' STOL aircraft, 1./Wüstennotstaffel served as a ‘jack-of-all trades’ for Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel throughout the North African campaign. The story of the unit is a fascinating one and it has been superbly written up and published by AirWar Publications in their eArticle series. For French readers the story is told in the current issue (no 48) of Chris Ehrengardt's Aerojournal magazine.

It is a story that involved a number of lively escapades and events in the two years from its creation in the summer of 1941 to its disbandment in the summer of 1943. Although rarely reporting more than a dozen aircraft on strength, the Wüstennotstaffel carried out all manner of tasks in the desert war, ranging from its regular rescues of downed Axis and Allied airmen, to evacuation of wounded German soldiers, providing assistance to various Axis special forces and irregular units, transporting senior German army and air force personnel, and generally doing whatever miscellaneous tasks it was required to perform. The unit’s Staffelkapitän, Heinz Kroseberg, was awarded the Ritterkreuz for his efforts in rescuing friend and foe alike, although the award was given posthumously after he sacrificed his life trying to save some downed German airmen in the Mediterranean Sea off the North African coast. This article outlines the history of the unit in North Africa, and delves into several of the more prominent events that it was involved in.

The range of duties performed by the Wüstennotstaffel was surprisingly wide. The unit was involved in the battle against the British LRDG and SAS, undertook sabotage missions of their own, transported the likes of Rommel and Kesselring, and undertook dozens of other tasks. The authors have unearthed some really good stories, and as a result of extensive correspondence with the family of Heinz Kroseberg (the Wüstennotstaffel leader from June 1941 to May 1942), the article includes lots of previously unpublished first-hand accounts.

As we've said before on this blog Air War Publications' earticles are a great idea, always packed with interesting details, so many congratulations to Morten and Andrew for yet another winner. I also have to say that it looks extremely good on my Ipad mini!

This 10,000 word article featuring artworks and a fine collection of images is available for download in two parts for not much more than the cost of a print magazine on the AirWar Publications site here

Fi 156 CQ+QP, 1./Wüstennotstaffel, late-1941 - early 1942. The eArticle also includes a page of modellers colour notes

Reference and colour notes for modellers building the Hasegawa/Revell Fi 156 in 1/32nd scale

below; colour image from "Recon for Rommel" by S.Ommert shows the effects of a sand storm on a Fi 156 C coded 5F+YK of AufklGr 14. The camouflage scheme consists of a 'dark' and quite dense mottle of a sand colour, possibly of Italian origin, over the RLM 79, while the lower surfaces are likely to be RLM 78. Note the white fuselage theatre band..

1. Most, if not all, desert Fi 156s carried only the white fuselage band as theatre markings.
2. The underside of the fuselage on Fi 156 Storks delivered in the RLM 79/RLM 78 scheme was RLM 78
3. Photos show that the inside of the cockpit door was almost certainly RLM 66 as was the instrument panel, but the rear cockpit wall was a lighter colour (RLM 02?). Photos of Fi 156 Ds (ambulance version - all theatres) show the area around where the stretchers are fitted is this same lighter colour.

 Fi 156 C-5/Trop, probably liaison Aircraft of Stab/JG 27, taking off from a North-African desrt airstrip, 1942

two more Wüstennotstaffel machines, above, repainted after capture by the British but retaining the Staffel emblem on the nose and, below, DL+AW

Hasegawa/Revell Fi 156 in 32nd scale built by Peter Dixon of London
 

Westfeldzug Storch, JG 2 emblem

currently on offer here from koelsch333 Ebay sales and posted here courtesy Marco

Nicely camouflaged Fi 156 C Storch "CG+BF" possibly belonging to JG 2 (note emblem under windscreen, thank you Tomas!). The seller identifies this as being from a 30 I.D photo group from the French campaign Westfeldzug - the camouflage finish appears to be 70/71 splinter with 02 overspray. In the JG 2 history similar types were used to scout out forward landing fields ahead of the advance.
Below expired ebay auction via Tomas Prusa on Facebook