**** DONE: GB-42 1/48 Fieseler Fi156 Storch - MTO II

[Crimea_River]

Username: Crimea River
First name: Andy
Category: Judge – Non competing
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Tamiya
Model Type: Fieseler Fi156C Storch

I will enter this GB with the only model in my stash that fits the theme at the moment but it's a beauty. I picked up this Tamiya gem for a very good price from an estate donation to the Nanton museum and plan to build it as this uniquely camouflaged plane used by 1./Wüstennotstaffel in the desert war:

FalkeEins has a short article on this interesting unit and I quote:

"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. [I have ordered the two volumes just now and have yet to read them].....

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.....

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."

One immediate issue that will need to be resolved is the unit code on the aircraft in the above pic. Tamiya's decal sheet has it as "SK" whereas photos of other aircraft in the unit carry the code "5K" and others. It seems the unit did have aircraft with different unit codes; perhaps they were "borrowed" from various places. The photo above chops the corner of the "S" or "5" from view as it's behind the wing strut but a small corner suggests it could be an "S". I will read through the air publications article to see if all is revealed.

I am finding it increasingly hard to devote time to these GB projects, especially in our summer months, but hope to give this one a good shot at finishing on time. Unfortunately, this would require setting my GB40 Wellington further onto the back burner after first finishing my GB41 Hurricane. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Airframes]

Nice one Andy.
Always liked the Storch, and fantastic to see one almost flying backwards, like the one below, at Little Gransden.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks Terry. I saw the one at the Flying Heritage Collection and saw it fly - more like a kite than an aircraft! I have lots of detail pics of it.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Mainly28s]

I had the pleasure of a trip in a Storch many years ago, and it's one of my favourite planes. I look forward to seeing this develop.

 

[Wayne Little]

Look forward to this one.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks for your interest guys.

After reading part one of the AirWar Publication, I have found out a few interesting facts about my chosen subject. First, this desert rescue squadron was not assigned a unique staffel code so the aircraft used either retained their "borrowed" codes or, as in the case of my bird, used the Stammkennzeichen , or ferry markings, as their identifying codes. Thus, my aircraft aircraft did indeed sport the "SF+RL" code. Secondly, it appears that Tamiya have misrepresented the camouflage scheme on their box art and paint instructions. Tamiya would like us to paint the aircraft with sand coloured uppers and then disrupt it with a light blue wave pattern. However, the authors of the AirWar publication state, more convincingly, that the Wellenmuster was in fact a disruptive pattern of RLM 79 Sandgelb over the standard continental 70/71/65 scheme. It makes much more sense to me that the latter would be the case as the standard desert scheme would have seen no benefit of being lightened with a blue wave pattern whereas the dark European scheme would have been very conspicuous against the desert sand without being toned down. A close look at the pic I posted in the Intro would strongly suggest a dark colour behind the wave pattern so I'm going with the AirWar Publication interpretation.

A final interesting point is the story of this aircraft's demise. As some of you may know, on May 12, 1942, a resupply flight of 14 Ju-52's carrying over 100 new troops to Libya was decimated by Kittyhawks of 250 Squadron and Beaufighters of 252 Squadron. 8 Ju-52's and one Bf110 were shot down into the Mediterranean and many survivors were struggling in the water. The Staffelkapitän of the Wüstennotstaffel , Heinz Kroseberg, took off in Storch SF+RL along with two other Storchs to find and assist as many survivors as possible. As the publication states:

"It was reported that Kroseberg and his radio operator both threw their life jackets to men floundering in the Mediterranean. Exactly what happened next is unknown, but the Staffelkapitän and his back-seater, 31 year old Unteroffizier Walter Büchner from Chemnitz, were not heard from again and they remain listed as missing in action to this day, the location given as over the Mediterranean Sea, 80 kilometres north of Derna. The Fliegerführer Afrika told Kroseberg's widow that the most likely explanation was engine failure. Known affectionately as Abu Markub (the Father of the Storks), Hauptmann Kroseberg was posthumously awarded the Ritterkreuz on 19 June 1942. This had been his 161st operational flight.......In the citation to his Ritterkreuz it was noted that:

Hptm. Heinz Kroseberg accomplished
exceptional feats during the recovery of
air crews downed in the desert or at sea.
Deeply fulfilled by his honourable task of
rescuing comrades in distress, he sacrificed
himself in quiet heroism while saving the
lives of countless German soldiers, until
he failed to return from a rescue mission
far over the sea."

 

[Airframes]

Interesting info, and I agree with your interpretation of the colour scheme.

 

[fubar57]

Great story and subject. One in the stash so I'll be keeping notes

 

[Andrew Arthy]

Hi Andy,

Glad to read that you like the 1. Wüstennotstaffel article. It was a really enjoyable story to research and write, and we probably have enough material (including many of Kroseberg's letters to his family) to publish a good book about the unit, someday.

Cheers,
Andrew A.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks for the interest Andrew. I have volume 2 but have not read it yet. My complements on a job well done. A very interesting read indeed.

 

[Donivanp]

I have a couple of these Tamiya, they look really good but I know if someone can do justice in a review it will be you Andy. I'd hate to try that camo though.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks Don, kind words. This kit is not for the faint of heart as it is very delicate with many scale tubular frames that are prone to breakage, Fortunately, Tamiya are up to their usual high standard of minimal flash and mould seams so clean up of these parts is straight forward with a little care.

While waiting for the Hurricane finishes to dry, I assembled and painted the nice little Argus engine.

 

[fubar57]

Very spiffy

 

[Donivanp]

Now that is a damn good paint job. Lovely work!

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks Don.

A little bit done tonight. Tamiya have made a couple of innovations with this kit, one of them being the integrated clear plastic with the grey styrene on the fuselage. No messy gluing and fit issues here, though there are plenty of other loose clear parts that we can get into trouble with.

They also provide masks with the kit though they need to be cut out with a scalpel following the pattern. While it's great that they did this, it would have been helpful to provide masks for the interior as well since the glass house will reveal a lot of internal detail including the frames. I set about making my own interior masks and applying these so that I can paint the interior without worrying about overspraying onto the nice clear glass.

Here are the fuselage halves and floor ready for paint. There were a few ejector pin marks and Tamiya have been very diligent in trying to hide these behind the diagonal frames that are glued onto the sides as separate parts. I nonetheless filed them out as they weren't too deep.

A little bit of research is needed here in that the Air War Publication says that most Storchs were painted RLM 66 throughout the interior but that desert machines received a lighter colour, possibly 02, to prevent heat build-up. Tamiya call up 02 for pretty much everything. Off to do some reading and surfing....

 

[Wurger]

 

[Wayne Little]

good work Andy.

 

[Donivanp]

Doing good. I didn't notice the clear/grey molding until you mentioned it. The kit is very delicately done,

 

[Airframes]

Good stuff Andy.