German Air Force

Happy flight, Duce!

Campo Imperatore, Gran Sasso d’Italia, 12 September 1943: the final act of the Unternehmen Eiche (Operation Oak), the liberation of Benito Mussolini. The men of the Lehrbataillon (2. Fallschirmjägerdivision), disembarked from ten transport gliders DFS 230, greeting the take-off of the plane direct to Pratica di Mare, Rome, with onboard the pilot Walter Gerlach, the Duce (barely visible dressed in black) and Otto Skorzeny (in the rear seat with beige overcoat) which toke itself all the merits: an history’s page well know and also many times commemorated by ww2incolor (for the DFS 230 gliders see also http://www.ww2incolor.com/d/716886-1/GRAN-SASSO-DFS-DISTR). I alight on in preference to the aircraft and to the pilot, two of event’s leading actors. The plane is the Fieseler Fi 156C-3 Storch Nr.1268, Stammkennzeichen SJ+LL (and not SU+LL as indicated by few sources). Gerlach, a well experienced pilot and good expert of the Storch’s flight characteristic and also, clearly, of the stringent flight conditions on high mountains, was obliged to resolve a very difficult problem, not much for the land, only a run of 30 m (100 ft) uphill (normal practice for the flight in mountain), how for the take-off. The Skorzeny’s request of go on board together Mussolini overloaded the plane and this over a terrain at near 1,800 meter ASL (over 5,700 ft) with all problems hailing from the high altitude, luckily with cold climate. Gerlach on his part solved the problem: take-off run downhill (other practice for the flight in mountains), strictly control of wind’s direction and speed, brakes locked, full flaps, step-by-step power to near full power (75%?), brakes release and “go”: TO in 80 meter (250 ft) and plane in full flight with flaps retraction in climb beginning (notice a detail: the upper portion of the engine cowling appear removed; for better cooling of the engine under strain during the take-off in overload?). The remaining flight was without history and the Garlach’s Storch with Mussolini on board landed successfully at Pratica di Mare where a Luftwaffe’s Heinkel He 111 wait for the Duce and for his transfer in Germany. A good exploit thanks to the Gerlach’s skills and to still unequalled STOL performances of the Fieseler Storch. Victor Sierra