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

[Ben...]

Perfect, Thanks again for all your help.

Was there any truth to the plan to use helicopters instead of gliders but they were destroyed in a raid a couple of days before?

Ben

[Boomerang]

Hello Ben:

Suggest it was unlikely there was ever a plan to use helicopters for the Mussolini rescue based on:

• very immature state of helicopter technology in 1943, certainly the use of helicpters would be high risk, whereas....
• use of gliders for landing troops on precise locations was well established by 1943 e.g. refer the famous use of glider landed troops to capture the Eben Emael fortress in May 1940

Quite simply, why take unnecessary risks on what was clearly a very hairy operation?

I realise the danger of web-based sources, but this account does tally with what I have previously seen about the Mussolini rescue:

http://www.2worldwar2.com/otto-skorzeny.htm

Cheers

Don