Fieseler was a German aircraft manufacturer founded by World War I flying ace and aerobatic champion, Gerhard Fieseler, on April 1, 1930, in Kassel, Germany. Initially, the company began building sports planes, and custom-built sailplanes for some of Germany’s most prominent designers and pilots. Fieseler won the World Aerobatics Championship in 1934 in an aircraft his company had built, followed by the highly successful F5 in 1936. The company achieved even greater success with an aircraft of Fieseler’s own design, the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch (Stork), which was produced in over 3,000 units during World War II. Fieseler also produced other wartime aircraft like the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 under license and went on to produce the V-1 flying bomb. Following the war, the company continued to produce automotive components, with some of its popular products – the Storch and the V-1 – being produced by foreign companies.