The Fieseler Fi-156 Storch (German: stork) was the most successful of the STOL-Short Take of and Landing aircraft used during World War II. The aircraft first flown in 1937 and its ability to operate from runways less than 200 meters in length was quickly appreciated, especially in supply and reconnaissance missions. Although the only armament of the machine was a rear-mounted machine gun, and the maximum speed did not exceed 175 km / h, the Luftwaffe praised the plane very much and used it on a large scale during the war. One of the most famous actions in which the Fi-156 planes took part was the release of Benito Mussolini on September 12, 1943 by commandos led by Otto Skorzeny. During World War II, over 2,800 aircraft of this type, all versions, were created. The most popular version was the C model, produced in many variants, powered by the Argus AS-10 eight-cylinder engine. 2,634 were produced of all variants of this version. The class of design is evidenced by the fact that production continued after the war in Czechoslovakia and even France, where the Morane-Saulnier company sold the plane to the French air force under the name MS 500/502 Criquet. Technical data: Maximum speed: 175 km / h, speed of climb: 4.8 m / s, maximum ceiling 4600 m, maximum range: 380 km, armament: fixed - one 7.92mm MG15 machine gun.
Erwin Rommel (full name: Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel) was born in 1891 and died probably by forced suicide in 1944. He was one of the most famous German generals of the Second World War - he was nicknamed the Fox of the Desert. Erwin Rommel gained his war experience from the first weeks of the First World War. In its course, as an infantry officer, he was active in Argons in France, Italy and Romania. In the course of this conflict, he often showed personal courage and skillfully led his troops into battle. For his achievements on the Italian front, he was awarded the highest order of imperial Germany - Pour Le Merite. After 1918, he remained in Reichswer. During this period, he also wrote a great and still up-to-date book "Piechota attacks!" (in German "Infanterie greif an!"). At the beginning of World War II, in recognition of his merits, he was the head of Adolf Hitler's Headquarters in Poland. However, already in the summer of 1940, he commanded the German 7th Armored Division with great success during the French campaign. However, in the years 1941-1943 he led the Afrika Korps during his fights in North Africa, often at that time presenting an unconventional, courageous, extremely offensive action, sometimes not taking into account the conditions of logistics. Ultimately, due to the numerical superiority of the Allied forces and its own problems with supplies - the campaign in North Africa was lost by the Axis countries. In the period 1943-1944 he held high command positions in France. Due to the still unclear role of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in the attack on Hitler of July 20, 1944, he was most likely forced to commit suicide in October 1944.