The Messerschmitt Me 321 Gigant was a large German cargo glider developed and used during World War II. Intended to support large-scale invasions, the Me 321 had very limited use due to the low availability of suitable tug aircraft, high vulnerability whilst in flight, and its difficult ground handling, both at base and at destination landing sites. The Me 321 was developed, in stages, into the six-engined Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant, which removed some of the problems with ground handling, although the payload was reduced. Vulnerability to ground fire and aerial attack remained a constant problem during operations of all variants.[1]
During the preparations for a possible invasion of Britain during World War II (Operation Sea Lion) the Luftwaffe's Transport Command saw an obvious need existed for a larger-capacity cargo- and troop-carrying aircraft than its mainstay, the Junkers Ju 52.[2]
When the plans for Operation Sea Lion were shelved in December 1940, and planning began for the invasion of the USSR (Operation Barbarossa), the most cost-effective solution to the need for transport aircraft was found to be to use gliders. Accordingly, the Technical Bureau of the Luftwaffe issued a tender for rapid development of a Grossraumlastensegler ("large-capacity transport glider") to the aircraft manufacturers Junkers and Messerschmitt. The specification called for the glider to be capable of carrying either an 88 mm gun plus its tractor, or a medium tank. The codename Projekt Warschau (Project Warsaw) was used, with Junkers being given the codename Warschau-Ost and Messerschmitt Warschau-Süd.
The Junkers design, the Ju 322 Mammut was unsuccessful, though, due to the company opting to use all-wood construction. Messerschmitt's design for this transport glider consequently secured the contract for the company. Initially given the RLM designation Me 263, this designation number was later reused (see: RLM) for the second-generation rocket fighter developed in 1945: Messerschmitt Me 263. That number was "freed-up" when the number for this aircraft was switched to Me 321.
Design
The Me 263 had a framework of steel tubing provided by the Mannesmann company, with wooden spars and a covering of doped fabric. This allowed for quick construction and easy repair when needed and also saved weight. The Me 263 was redesignated the Me 321 and was nicknamed Gigant (Giant) due to its huge size.
Its nose stood over 6m (20ft) high, and was made up of two clamshell doors, which could only be opened from the inside, when ramps would be used to allow vehicles to drive in or out. Compared to the Ju 52, the Me 321 offered a load area six times larger. The cargo hold was 11 m (36 ft) long, 3 m (10 ft) wide and 3.4 m (11 ft) high, and could accommodate a gross cargo weighing up to 23t (23 long tons). The cargo space had been designed to replicate the load space of a standard German railway flatcar, allowing any cargo that could travel by rail to fit into an Me 321. In addition, if used as a passenger transport, it could accommodate up to 200 fully equipped soldiers.[3]
The Me 321 was fitted with a jettisonable undercarriage comprising two Bf 109 mainwheels at the front and two Junkers Ju 90 main wheels at the rear and was intended to land on four extendable skids.
The first flight of the prototype Me 321 V1 took place on 25 February 1941, towed into the air by a Ju 90. It was piloted by Messerschmitt test pilot Karl Baur, and carried 3tonnes (3tons) of ballast. Baur reported that the controls were heavy and responses sluggish. They decided to enlarge the cockpit to accommodate a co-pilot and radio operator, and dual controls were fitted. Electric servo motors were also fitted to assist in moving the huge trailing edgeflaps and further tests caused a braking parachute to also be added.
The test flights were plagued by take-off difficulties, since the Junkers Ju 90 was not powerful enough, and as an interim measure three Bf 110heavy fighters were used, in a so-called Troikaschlepp, with the trio of twin-engined fighters taking off together in a V formation. This was a highly dangerous manoeuvre and Ernst Udet asked Ernst Heinkel to come up with a better aerial towing method. Heinkel responded by creating the Heinkel He 111Z Zwilling (Twins), which combined two He 111 aircraft through the use of a new "center" wing section with a fifth engine added. Underwing-mount, liquid monopropellantWalter HWK 109-500Starthilferocket-assisted take-off booster units were also used to assist take-off from rough fields.
Operational history
The first Me 321 A-1 production aircraft entered service in May 1941 with Grossraumlastensegler 321 at Leipheim, initially towed by Ju 90s and later by the He 111Z and the Troikaschlepp arrangement of three Bf 110s.[3] The triple Zerstörer arrangement was very dangerous in the event that one or more of the take-off booster rockets failed. One such failure did occur in 1941, which led to the collision of the tow planes and the deaths of all 129 occupants of the four aircraft.[dubious–discuss][4][5][bettersourceneeded] This was the deadliest aviation accident up to that time and was not matched until the Tachikawa air disaster of 1953 and not exceeded until the 1960 New York mid-air collision.[6] The later Me 321 B-1 variant had a crew of three and was armed with four 7.92mm (.312in) MG 15 machine guns.
The Me 321 was less than successful on the Eastern Front for various reasons:
As a glider, the Me 321 lacked the ability to make a second or third approach to a crowded landing strip.
Moving on the ground was impossible without specialized vehicles.
Before the introduction of the He 111 Zwilling, the dangerous Troikaschlepp arrangement gave a one-way range of only 400km (250mi), which was insufficient for a safe operating zone.[7]
In early 1942, the remaining Me 321s were withdrawn from service in Russia in anticipation of the planned Operation Herkules, the invasion of Malta, in which a fleet of the gliders hauled by He 111Zs was to be used. The plan was abandoned due to a lack of towing aircraft.
In 1943, Me 321s returned to Russia for use in a projected operation to relieve the besieged Sixth Army at Stalingrad, but by the time they reached the front line, no suitable airfields remained and they were sent back to Germany.
Following the cancellation of the Stalingrad operation, the Me 321 gliders were mothballed, scrapped, or converted into the powered variant, the Me 323 with six 895kW (1,200hp) engines, the largest land-based cargo aircraft of World War II. A further proposed operation — in which the remaining Me 321s would have landed troops on Sicily — was also abandoned, due to a lack of suitable landing sites.
The Messerschmitt Me 263 Scholle (plaice) was a rocket-powered fighter aircraft developed from the Me 163 Komet towards the end of World War II. Three prototypes were built but never flown under their own power as the rapidly deteriorating military situation in Germany prevented the completion of the test program.
The Messerschmitt Me 328 was a prototype pulsejet-powered fighter aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt AG.
The DFS 230 was a German transport glider operated by the Luftwaffe in World War II. It was developed in 1933 by the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug with Hans Jacobs as the head designer. The glider was the German inspiration for the British Hotspur glider and was intended for airborne assault operations.
The Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant ("Giant") 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 to fly during the war. In total, 213 were made, with 15 being converted from the Me 321.
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The Gotha Go 242 was a transport glider used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. It was an upgrade over the DFS 230 in both cargo/troop capacity and flight characteristics. It saw limited combat action. There were multiple glider variants, and it became the basis for a transport aircraft, the: Gotha Go 244.
The Junkers Ju 187 was a German projected dive bomber designed to replace the ageing Junkers Ju 87 Stuka. The Ju 187 was cancelled in 1943.
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The Junkers Ju 322 Mammut was a heavy transport military glider, resembling a giant flying wing, proposed for use by the Luftwaffe in World War II; only two prototypes were completed, a further 98 were scrapped before completion.
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The Klemm Kl 151 was a German prototype light passenger aircraft designed by Dr. Hanns Klemm and chief engineer Carl Bucher during World War II. Only one model was built.
The Gotha Ka 430 was a military transport glider, first built in 1944. The glider was designed by Albert Kalkert. Twelve had been produced by the end of World War II, but none of them was used operationally.
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The German Air Ministry had a system for aircraft designation which was an attempt by the aviation authorities of the Third Reich to standardize and produce an identifier for each airframe type produced in Germany. It was in use from 1933 to 1945 though many pre-1933 aircraft were included and the system had changes over those years. As well as aircraft of the Luftwaffe, it covered civilian airliners and sport planes, due to the RLM handing all aviation-related matters in the Third Reich, both civilian and military in nature.
The Messerschmitt P.1092 was a series of Messerschmitt experimental aircraft for the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. Several designs for single- and twin-engined aircraft were drafted under the same designation.
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References
↑ Nowarra, Heinz J. (1993). Die Deutsche Luftruestung 1933–1945 (in German). Vol.3. Flugzeugtypen Henschel-Messerschmitt. Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. pp.236–39, 268–69. ISBN978-3-7637-5467-0.
↑ Zabecki, David T.; Schuster, Carl O.; Rose, Paul J.; Van, William H., eds. (1999). World War II in Europe: an encyclopedia. New York: Garland Pub. p.992. ISBN0-8240-7029-1.
1 2 Staerck, Christopher; Sinnott, Paul (2002). Luftwaffe: the allied intelligence files (1sted.). Washington, D.C.: Brassey's. pp.202–203. ISBN1-57488-387-9.
↑ Hyland, Gary; Gill, Anton (1999). Last talons of the eagle: secret Nazi technology which could have changed the course of World War II. London: Headline. p.83. ISBN0-7472-5964-X.
↑ Green, William; Punnett, Dennis (with line drawings by) (1970). The warplanes of the Third Reich (4. impression.ed.). London: Macdonald & Co. p.648. ISBN0-356-02382-6.
↑ Smith, J.R.; Kay, Antony L.; Creek, E.J. (with drawings by ) (1972). German aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam. p.557. ISBN0-370-00024-2.
↑ Nowarra, Heinz J. (1993). Die Deutsche Luftruestung 1933–1945 Vol.3 – Flugzeugtypen Henschel-Messerschmitt (in German). Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. pp.235–236, 268–269. ISBN978-3-7637-5467-0.
Dabrowski, Hans-Peter (2002). Messerschmitt 321 / the Luftwaffe's "giants" in World War II. Atglen: Schiffer Pub. ISBN0-7643-1442-4.
Lefèbvre, J.-M. (December 1972). "Messerschmitt 321–323, les plus grosses cibles jamais offertes aux Allies par la Luftwaffe (2)" [Messerschmitt 321–323: The Biggest Target Ever Offered to the Allies by the Luftwaffe, Part 2]. Le Album de Fanatique de l'Aviation (in French) (39): 21–25. ISSN0757-4169.
Mondey, David (2000). Concise guide to Axis aircraft of World War II (Repr.ed.). London: Chancellor Press. ISBN1-85152-966-7.
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