Aircraft · Germany · 1942-1944
Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant
heavy transport aircraft
The Me 323 was a powered, six-engined conversion of the Me 321 Gigant assault glider, and as the largest land-based transport aircraft of the war it could carry up to 12 tonnes of cargo, 130 troops, or vehicles such as field howitzers and half-tracks through its clamshell nose doors. It was used to ferry troops and supplies to the Eastern Front and across the Mediterranean to North Africa, but was slow and poorly defended; in one notorious action over the Mediterranean in April 1943, Allied fighters shot down roughly 16 of a 27-aircraft formation.
| crew | 5 |
|---|---|
| top speed | 219 km/h |
| payload | up to 12 tonnes |
| produced | 198 |
