| Me 323Gigant | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Heavytransport |
| Manufacturer | Messerschmitt |
| Primary user | Luftwaffe |
| Number built | 198 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1942–1944 |
| Introduction date | 1943 |
| First flight | January 20, 1942 |
| Retired | 1944 |
| Developed from | Messerschmitt Me 321 |
| Developed into | Zeppelin-SNCASO ZSO 523 |
TheMesserschmitt Me 323Gigant ("Giant") was a Germanmilitary transport aircraft ofWorld War II. It was a powered variant of theMe 321 military glider and was the largest land-based transport aircraft to fly during the war. In total, 213 were made, with 15 being converted from the Me 321.
The Me 323 was the result of a 1940 German requirement for a large assault glider in preparation forOperation Sea Lion, the projected invasion of Great Britain. TheDFS 230 light glider had already proven its worth in theBattle of Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium (the first ever assault by gliderborne troops), and would later be used in theinvasion of Crete in 1941.
However, in order to mount an invasion across theEnglish Channel, the Germans would need to be able to airlift vehicles and other heavy equipment as part of an initial assault wave. Although Operation Sea Lion was cancelled, the requirement for a heavy air transport capability remained, with the focus shifting to the forthcomingOperation Barbarossa, the invasion of theSoviet Union.
On 18 October 1940,Junkers andMesserschmitt were given just 14 days to submit a proposal for a large transport glider. The emphasis was still very much on the assault role; the ambitious requirement was to be able to carry either an88 mm gun and its half-track tractor, or aPanzer IVmedium tank. TheJunkers Ju 322Mammut reachedprototype form, but was eventually scrapped due to difficulties in procuring the necessary high-grade timber for its all-wood construction, and as was discovered during theMammut's first test flight, an unacceptably high degree of instability inherent in the design.[1] The proposed Messerschmitt aircraft was originally designatedMe 261w—partly borrowing the designation of the long-rangeMesserschmitt Me 261—then changed toMe 263 (later reused for Messerschmitt'simproved rocket fighter design), and eventually became theMe 321. Although the Me 321 saw considerable service on the Eastern Front as a transport, it was never used for its intended role as an assault glider.
Early in 1941, as a result of feedback from Transport Command pilots in Russia, the decision was taken to produce a motorized variant of the Me 321, to be designated Me 323. FrenchGnome et Rhône GR14Nradial engines, rated at 1,180 PS (1,164 hp, 868 kW) for take-off as used in theBloch MB.175 aircraft were chosen for use. This would reduce the burden on Germany's strained industry.[2]
Initial tests were conducted with four Gnome engines attached to a strengthened Me 321 wing, giving modest speed of 210 km/h (130 mph) – 80 km/h (50 mph) slower than theJu 52 transport aircraft. A fixedundercarriage was fitted, with four small wheels in abogie at the front of the aircraft and six larger wheels in two lines of three at each side of thefuselage, partly covered by an aerodynamicfairing. The rear wheels were fitted withpneumatic brakes that could stop the aircraft within 200 m (660 ft).
The four-engined Me 323C was considered a stepping-stone to the six-engined D series. It still required the five-enginedHeinkel He 111ZZwilling or the highly dangerous"vic-style"Troika-Schlepp formation of threeMesserschmitt Bf 110heavy fighters and underwing-mountedWalter HWK 109-500Starthilferocket-assisted take-off units to get airborne when fully loaded, but it could return to base under its own power when empty. This was little better than the Me 321, so the V2 prototype became the first to have six engines and flew for the first time in early 1942, becoming the prototype for the D-series aircraft.
To reduce torque, the aircraft was fitted with three counterclockwise rotation engines on the port wing and three clockwise rotation engines on the starboard wing, as seen looking forward from behind each engine - resulting in the propellers rotating "away" from each other at the tops of their arcs.
Like the Me 321, the Me 323 had massive, semicantilever, high-mounted wings, which were braced from the fuselage out to the middle of the wing. To reduce weight and savealuminium, much of the wing was made ofplywood and fabric, while the fuselage was of metal-tube construction with woodenspars and covered withdoped fabric, with heavy bracing in the floor to support the payload.
The "D" series had a crew of five - two pilots, twoflight engineers, and aradio operator. Two gunners could also be carried. The flight engineers occupied two smallcabins, one in each wing between the inboard and centre engines. The engineers were intended to monitor engine synchronisation and allow the pilot to fly without worrying about engine status, although the pilot could override the engineers' decisions on engine and propeller control.
Maximum payload was around 12 tonnes, although at that weight, the Walter HWK 109-500Starthilfe rocket-assisted takeoff units used on the Me 321 were required for takeoff. These were mounted beneath the wings outboard of the engines, with the wings having underside fittings to take up to four units. The cargo hold was 11 m (36 ft) long, 3 m (10 ft) wide and 3.4 m (11 ft) high. Typical loads were one15 cm sFH 18 heavy field howitzer (5.5 ton) accompanied by itsSd.Kfz. 7 half-track artillery tractor vehicle (11 ton), two 3.6 tonne (4 ton) trucks, 8,700 loaves of bread, an88 mmFlak gun and accessories, 52 drums of fuel (252 L/45 US gal), 130 men, or 60 stretchers.
Some Me 321s were converted to Me 323s, but most were built as six-engined aircraft from the beginning. Early models were fitted with wooden, two-bladepropellers, while later versions had metal, three-blade, variable-pitch versions.
The Me 323 had a maximum speed of only 219 km/h (136 mph) at sea level. It was armed with six 13 mm (.51 in)MG 131 machine guns firing from a dorsal position behind the wings and from the fuselage. They were manned by the extra gunners, radio operator, and engineers.[3]
By September 1942, Me 323s were being delivered for use in theTunisian campaign. They entered service in the Mediterranean theatre in November 1942. High losses amongAxis shipping required a huge airlift of equipment across the Mediterranean to keepRommel'sAfrika Korps supplied.
On 22 April 1943, a formation of 27 fully loaded Me 323s was being escorted across theSicilian Straits byMesserschmitt Bf 109s ofJagdgeschwader 27 when it was intercepted by seven squadrons —Supermarine Spitfires (No. 1 Squadron SAAF) andCurtiss P-40 Kittyhawks (No. 7 South African Wing).[4] Of the 27 transports, 16 or 17 were shot down. Three or four P-40s were shot down by the escorts.[5][6]
A total of 198 Me 323s were built before production ceased in April 1944.[7][8] Several production versions were built, beginning with theD-1. Later D- and E- versions differed in the choice of power plant and in defensive armament, with improvements in structural strength, total cargo load, and fuel capacity also being implemented. Nonetheless, the Me 323 remained underpowered. A proposal to install sixBMW 801 radials did not occur. The Me 323 was also a short-range aircraft, with a typical range (loaded) of 1,000–1,200 km (620–750 mi). Despite this, the limited numbers of Me 323s in service were an asset to the Germans, and saw extensive use.
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No complete aircraft survives, but theLuftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr (Air Force Museum of the German Federal Armed Forces) in Berlin has a Me 323 main wing spar in its collection.[12] A ruined but complete wreck was found in 2012, in the sea nearLa Maddalena, an island nearSardinia, Italy. The aircraft lies in around 60 m (200 ft) of water, around 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi) from the coast. It was shot down by a BritishBeaufighter long-range fighter on 26 July 1943, while flying from Sardinia toPistoia in Italy.[13]
Data fromBritannica Book Of The Year 1944;[14]German Aircraft of the Second World War[8]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
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