This is a Fieseler Fi-156 Storch, a short take-off and landing aircraft designed in Germany in the late 1930s. Oddly, despite Germany being a bit of a bad neighbour at the time, it was also built in the Soviet Union (before the German invasion) and France (during and after the German invasion).

One country not invaded was neutral Switzerland, which is where this Fi-156 Storch (or Stork in English) hails from, being used in the Alps for search and rescue.

Built by Flickr’s daviddstone, this brick-built recreation of the Swiss Stork captures the design brilliantly, including wing and landing-gear struts, skis for snow landings, and a lovely Swiss Cross tail-fin.

There’s more to see of daviddstone’s creation at his photostream – click the link above to fly over the Alps in the 1940s.