The Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant was a German military transport aircraft of World War II.
It was a powered variant of the Me 321 military glider and was the largest land-based transport
aircraft of the war. A total of 213 are recorded as having been made, a few being converted
from the Me 321.
Development
The Me 323 was the result of a 1940 German requirement for a large assault glider in
preparation for Operation Sea Lion, the projected invasion of Great Britain. The DFS 230 light
glider had already proven its worth in the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium, and
would later be used successfully in the invasion of Crete in 1941.
However, in order to mount an invasion across the English 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 still existed, with the focus now on the forthcoming Operation Barbarossa, the
invasion of the Soviet Union. On 18 October 1940, Junkers and Messerschmitt
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 an 88 mm gun and its half-track tractor, or a Panzer IV medium tank. The Junkers Ju
322 Mammut reached prototype 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 the Mammut's only test flight, an unacceptably high degree of instability
inherent in the design. The proposed Messerschmitt aircraft was originally designated Me 261w,
then changed to Me 263 and eventually became the Me 321. Although the Me 321 saw considerable
service in Russia as a transport, it was never used for its intended role as an assault glider.
Me 323 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. It was decided to use French Gnome et Rhône GR14N
radial engines rated at 1,180 PS for take-off as used in the Bloch MB.175 aircraft; using
French engines was thought to place no burden on Germany's overstrained industry.
Initial tests were conducted using four Gnome engines attached to a strengthened Me 321
wing, which gave a modest speed of 210 km/h - 80 km/h slower than the Ju 52 transport
aircraft. A fixed undercarriage was fitted, which comprised four small wheels in a bogie
at the front of the aircraft with six larger wheels in two lines of three at each side
of the fuselage, partly covered by an aerodynamic fairing. The rear wheels were fitted with
pneumatic brakes, and could stop the aircraft within 200 m.
The four-engined Me 323C was considered merely a stepping stone to the six-engined D series;
it still required the five-engined Heinkel He 111Z Zwilling or the highly dangerous Troikaschlepp
formation of three Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters and rocket assisted takeoff to get
airborne when fully loaded, but it could return to base under its own power when empty. This
was clearly not much 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. The selection of the six engines, and their
specific placement on the wing's leading edge, were fitted to reduce torque - a trio of counterclockwise
rotation engines mounted on the port wing, and a trio of clockwise rotation engines on
the starboard wing as seen forward from "behind" each engine, resulting in the props rotating
"away" from each other at the tops of their arcs, as did the counter-rotating twin propellers
on the Heinkel He 177. Design
As per the Me 321, the Me 323 had massive, semi-cantilever, high-mounted wings which
were braced from the fuselage out to the middle of the wing. To reduce weight and to save
on aluminum, much of the wing was made of plywood and fabric, while the fuselage was
of metal tube construction with wooden spars and covered with doped fabric, with heavy
bracing in the floor to support the payload. The "D" series had a crew of five: two pilots,
two flight engineers and a radio operator. Two gunners could also be carried. The flight
engineers occupied two small cabins, one in each wing between the inboard and center 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 Hellmuth Walter Werke-designed, liquid-fueled RATO units used on the Me 321
were required for take off. The RATO's were mounted beneath the wings outboard of the
engines, with the wings having underside fittings to take up to a total of four RATO units.
The cargo hold was 11 m long, 3 m wide and 3.4 m high. The typical loads it carried
were: One 15 cm FH18 field artillery piece accompanied by its Sd.Kfz.7 halftrack transport
vehicle, two 3.6 tonne trucks, 8,700 loaves of bread, an 88 mm Flak gun and accessories,
52 drums of fuel, 130 men, or 60 stretchers. Some Me 321s were converted to Me 323s, but
the majority were built as six-engine aircraft from the beginning; early models were fitted
with wooden two-blade propellers, which were later replaced by metal, three-blade variable-pitch
versions. The Me 323 had a maximum speed of only 219 km/h
at sea level and speed dropped with altitude. For defensive armament, it was armed with
five 13 mm 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.
Operational history
By September 1942, Me 323s were being delivered for use in the Tunisian campaign, and entered
service in the Mediterranean theater in November 1942. The high rate of loss among Axis shipping
had made necessary a huge airlift of equipment across the Mediterranean to keep Rommel's
Afrika Korps supplied. On 22 April 1943, a formation of 27 fully
loaded Me 323s was being escorted across the Sicilian Straits by Bf 109s of JG 27 when
it was intercepted by seven squadrons of Spitfires and P-40s. Twenty one of the Me 323s were
lost while three of the P-40s were shot down by the escorts.
In terms of aircraft design, the Me 323 was very resilient, and could absorb a huge amount
of enemy fire, unless loaded with barrels of fuel – the Afrika Korps '​ nicknames
of Leukoplastbomber or even more derisively as the "adhesive tape bomber", were somewhat
unfair. The Me 323 was something of a "sitting duck", being so slow and large an aircraft.
However, no transport aircraft can ever be expected to survive without something close
to air superiority, and it is believed that no Me 323s survived in service beyond the
summer of 1944. A total of 198 Me 323s were built before production
ceased in April 1944. There were several production versions, beginning with the D-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 significantly underpowered. There was a proposal to install
six BMW 801 radials, but this never came to pass. The Me 323 was also a short-range aircraft,
with a typical range of 1,000-1,200 km. Despite this, the limited numbers of Me 323s in service
were an invaluable asset to the Germans, and saw intensive use.
Variants
. Me 323 V1
First Prototype, powered by four Gnome-Rhône 14N-48/49 engines
Me 323 V2 Prototype, powered by six Gnome-Rhône 14N
engines, became the standard for D production series
Me 323 D-1 First production series, powered by six Gnome-Rhône
14N engines originally intended for use in the Bloch 175, two 7.92 mm MG 15 machine
guns in cockpit fittings provided, field modifications increased defensive armament, variable-pitch
Ratier propellers with three blades Me 323 D-2
as D-1 but with engine installation originally intended for use in the LeO 451, fixed-pitch
wooden Heine propellers with two blades Me 323 D-6
as D-2, variable-pitch Ratier propellers with three blades
Me 323 V13 Prototype, powered by six Gnome-Rhône 14N
engines, served as a master for the Me 323E production series
Me 323 V14 Prototype, powered by six 1,340 PS Junkers
Jumo 211F engines, not proceeded with Me 323 E-1
Second production series, two gun turrets incorporated in the wings
Me 323 E-2 Proposed version with heavier armament
Me 323 E-2 WT Proposed 'escort' gunship version, based on
the E-1. Classified as a Waffentrager by the RLM, which the WT suffix denoted, in a similar
role to that of the American YB-40 Flying Fortress "gunship" heavy defensive fighter
conversion for the USAAF. Primary mission was to provide normal 323 cargo formations
with heavy defensive protection. No cargo carrying ability. "Solid" nose with 20mm cannon
turret, two additional wing turrets plus up to ten other machine guns/cannon of varying
calibres firing from standard and new waist/beam positions. 1.3 tonnes of armour plating was
added across the entire airframe. Crew increased to twenty-one, the extra crew-members operating
the plane's guns. Two prototypes built and tested, but series was cancelled after it
was judged that normal single-engined fighters were more effective in the transport escort
role. One of the prototypes was briefly assigned to KG 200 for operational evaluation, where
it flew armed escort for the small number of captured B-17 Flying Fortresses operated
by the Geschwader. Me 323 V16
Prototype, powered by six 1,340 PS Jumo 211R engines, intended to serve as a master for
the Me 323F production series Me 323 V17
Prototype, powered by six 1,600 PS Gnome-Rhône 14R engines, intended to serve as a master
for the Me 323G Survivors
No complete aircraft survives, but the Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr near Berlin has a Me 323 main
wing spar in its collection. A ruined but complete wreck was found in 2012,
in the sea near La Maddalena, an island near Sardinia, Italy. The aircraft lies in around
200 ft of water, around 8 nautical miles from the coast. It was shot down by a British
Bristol Beaufighter long–range fighter on July 26, 1943, while en–route from Sardinia
to Pistoia in Italy. Specifications
Data from Britannica Book Of The Year 1944; German Aircraft of the Second World War
General characteristics Crew: 5
Capacity: 130 troops or 10–12 tonnes of equipment
Length: 28.2 m Wingspan: 55.2 m
Height: 10.15 m Wing area: 300 m²
Empty weight: 27,330 kg Loaded weight: 29,500 kg
Max. takeoff weight: 43,000 kg Powerplant: 6 × Gnome-Rhône 14N-48/49, 1180
PS for take-off each Performance
Maximum speed: 285 km/h) Cruise speed: 218 km/h)
Range: 800 km Ferry range: 1,100 km
Service ceiling: 4,000 m Rate of climb: 3.6 m/s
Armament Guns: multiple 7.92 mm MG 15, MG 81 or 13
mm MG 131 machine guns See also
Related development Messerschmitt Me 321
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Junkers Ju 322 Related lists
List of aircraft of World War II List of military aircraft of Germany
References Notes
Bibliography
External links U.S. intelligence report on the German Me-323
"Gigant" transport aircraft appeared in Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 21, 25 March 1943
"Secrets of Germany's Flying Freighter." Popular Science, June 1944, p. 56D.
A reuniting of former enemies - a Luftwaffe Me 232 pilot meets the RAF Marauder pilot
who shot him down in a 1983 issue of Flight