Mescherschmitt Me 321

Mescherschmitt Me 321

This is a port side view of the high wing glider.

One b/w photograph on an album page

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PThomasAF20080015

[photograph]

Messerschmitt Me 321. Gigant.
On October 12th. 1940, Operation Sealion, as the projected invasion Britain was known, was officially postponed by order of the Fuhrer. Priority in objectives had been changed, & operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Russia, now took precedence. The Fuhrer believed Russia would be crushed in one short campaign & that the invasion of Britain would only be delayed about a year. The outcome of the Battle of Britain had rendered obvious the fact that the original plans demanded drastic revision. The conclusion that a means of landing heavy equipment with the first airborne assault had become a prerequisite for any successful invasion of Britain, & resulted in a highly novel concept, a glider capable of carrying a PzKW IV tank, a self propelled assault gun complete with crew, fuel & ammunition, or an 88mm anti aircraft gun with towing vehicle. Messerschmitt &Junkers were insstructed [sic] to submit design studies within fourteen days & that manufacture of 100 gliders each should start immediately. A major problem was provided by the lack of a suitable aircraft to tow the glider & the Heinkel Zwilling was created for this purpose. Before it was available a system of triple towing was tried with three Bf 110’s. Apart from the ever present danger of collision on take off, in turbulent conditions the whole excercise [sic] was hair-raising. The Gigant was pulled out of front line service early in 1942 in preparation for the invasion of Malta, & in January 1943 the decision was taken to use them in airlifting supplies to the cut off German forces in Stalingrad. However, were delayed en route & arrived too late to participate, this operation was the last serious attempt to employ them operationally. Max loaded weight 86,860 lbs. Span 180 feet 5 1/2 inches.