The Fieseler 156 had some amazing STOL abilities, and among them was the capability to hover in a 25mph wind, or in other words, fly at 25mph.
Now a German commerce raider like the Leipzig or the Deutschland could make over 30mph on a good day. Sail into the wind and the air rushing past the ship is going at 40-50mph, which is easily enough for one of the little planes to get airborne. So for an Fi 156 to take off from the ship, all that would be needed is a pad the size of the aircraft's dimensions (33 x 47ft).
Some versions of the Fi 156 could carry small bombs or depth charges. Could an Fi 156 'T' variant, flying off of small pads in German surface vessels, be a reality?
Now a German commerce raider like the Leipzig or the Deutschland could make over 30mph on a good day. Sail into the wind and the air rushing past the ship is going at 40-50mph, which is easily enough for one of the little planes to get airborne. So for an Fi 156 to take off from the ship, all that would be needed is a pad the size of the aircraft's dimensions (33 x 47ft).
Some versions of the Fi 156 could carry small bombs or depth charges. Could an Fi 156 'T' variant, flying off of small pads in German surface vessels, be a reality?