The Storch (“stork”), as it was known because of its high-legged undercarriage, was the standard courier and liaison aircraft of the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War. It was also used as an observation aircraft; a special version for medical purposes also existed.

The wing was equipped with rigid slats over the entire span, statically balanced slotted ailerons with Flettner rudders over half the span, and large landing flaps. This ensured good low-speed flight and STOL characteristics. The wings could be folded back by 90° for road transportation. A generously glazed cabin allowed excellent all-round visibility.

The Storch’s design enabled it to achieve an extremely low minimum flight speed of less than 50 km/h. This also reduced the requirements for takeoff and landing distances. 50 metres was enough for the stork to take off in a headwind, 20 metres to land. The aircraft flew slowly enough to be able to lay telecommunications cables. With the appropriate headwind, the Storch could also hover (zero groundspeed) or even move backwards.

From April 1942, the French company Morane-Saulnier produced the first Fi 156 under licence. After the end of the Second World War, production was continued for the Armée de l’air. The aircraft was initially built in its original version as the MS 500 with minor modifications (e.g. larger wheels, metal propeller) until the existing Argus engines were used up, then with further modifications (e.g. door opening upwards towards the wing, fuel lines running outside the wings) as the MS 502 “Criquet” (“Grille”) with Salmson 9ab 240 hp radial engine and as the MS 505 with Jacobs R755 305 hp radial engine. One hundred and forty one units were produced for the German Air Force and 925 for the Armée de l’air. The aircraft were still used in the war for French Indochina, which ended in 1954. In the humid climate there, however, the weaknesses of the wooden construction became apparent. The wings were converted to metal in the course of production of the MS 500 and subsequent models. Production was discontinued in 1965.