Fieseler Fi 156C-7, WNr. 475081
History
Manufactured in 1944 at the Fieseler factory in Choceň, Czechoslovakia, WNr. 475081 was a part of the Fi 156C-7 variant, designed for reconnaissance and liaison missions. The aircraft was captured by Allied forces in May 1945 during the German surrender in Flensburg, northern Germany. Following its capture, it was flown to Britain for evaluation purposes.
Upon arrival in the United Kingdom, the aircraft was assigned the Air Ministry serial AM101 on 5 September 1945. It was then transferred to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) on 30 April 1946, where it underwent various trials.Notably, on 28–29 May 1946, Lieutenant Commander Eric Brown of the Royal Navy conducted deck landing trials with the Storch aboard HMS Triumph, marking the only instance of a German aircraft landing on a British aircraft carrier.
Subsequently, the aircraft was re-serialed as VP546 and allocated the maintenance serial 7362M on 26 July 1956. Despite its historical significance, it was deemed unsuitable for ground instructional use and was transferred to the Air Historical Branch collection on 10 October 1956.
The aircraft remained in storage until June 1973, when it was moved to the Historic Aircraft Collection at RAF St Athan.In April 1989, it was relocated to the RAF Museum Midlands at Cosford