Mussolini rescue, Storch help please.

[Ben...]

Hi

I'm after any information on the Storch used to fly Mussolini to safety after the rescue.

As far as i can remember the raid to rescue him was carried out by paratroopers and the storch landed once the site was secure. I'm sure i've seen footage of the Storch taking off with Mussolini on board (plus the raids commander and pilot) on a documentary, but i cant remember where.

Do any of you have any info? do you know the Storchs indentity ??+??

Thanks

Ben

[Peter D Evans]

Fi156C-3/trop, WNr.001268 coded SJ+LL

Cheers

Peter D Evans
LEMB Administrator

[Ben...]

Thanks for the fast reply, could you tell me where your info came from please. I struggling to find any, especially photos.

Thanks again

Ben

[Peter D Evans]

...using www.google.co.uk, I searched for "Mussolini, Fi156" and came up with this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fieseler_Fi_156

...from there, I looked up SJ+LL on the LEMB Sktz Database and was able to find the Fi156 sub-type and WNr...

Peter D Evans
LEMB Administrator

[veltro]

Ben, have also a look at this older thread...

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showth...ghlight=Storch

[Ben...]

Thank you both very much, just the help i needed.

Ben

[Boomerang]

Hello Ben:

I'm glad that my old thread about the Storch used in the Mussolini rescue was of some further use.

The rescue operation was carried out by paratroops who used gliders to land near the hotel where Mussolini was being held. The Storch landed when the site had been secured. The operation was commanded in the field by the famous/infamous Otto Skorzeny.

I viewed film shot during the operation on a DVD about the Fallschirmjajer. I would think it's very likely that the film featured on the Deutsche Wochenschau newsreel, so it would be worth checking the archive made available via a recent post on this forum, to see whether you can find the footage - what a brilliant link, thanks Laurent!

Cheers

Don

[FrankieS]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXUP4lYbBh4

[VtwinVince]

It is true that the rescue operation was a Luftwaffe mission, not SS, and that Skorzeny was a shameless self-promoter.

[pelagonia]

What about the other two aircraft involved in the transport of the Duce in those eventful days?
The fi156 took him to Pratica di Mare airport, from there, a he 111 brought Mussolini to Vienna, where (if I understand it well) his "liberator" Skorzeny stopped to change into his high uniform. From Vienna, the he111 then flew to Munich. Any info about this plane? Are the informations about these stops correct?
Last, a ju52 took Mussolini to Rastenburg and was duly filmed for the Deutsche Wochenschau. This latter seems to me to carry DC+SE codes. I am seeing right?

Cheers,

Andrea