View into the cockpit of the Me 323The Me 323 was the result of a 1940 German requirement for a large assault glider in preparation for, the projected invasion of Great Britain. The light glider had already proven its worth in the in Belgium (the first ever assault by gliderborne troops), and would later be used successfully in the in 1941.However, in order to mount an invasion across the, 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, the invasion of the.On 18 October 1940, and were given just 14 days to submit a proposal for a large transport glider.

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The emphasis was still very much on the assault role: the ambitious requirement was to be able to carry either an and its half-track tractor, or a. The Mammut reached 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 — partly borrowing the designation of the long-range, then changed to Me 263 (later re-used for Messerschmitt's ) 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 GR14N rated at 1,180 PS (1,164 hp, 868 kW) for take-off as used in the 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 (130 mph) – 80 km/h (50 mph) slower than the transport aircraft. A fixed was fitted, which comprised four small wheels in a at the front of the aircraft with six larger wheels in two lines of three at each side of the, partly covered by an aerodynamic. The rear wheels were fitted with brakes, and could stop the aircraft within 200 m (660 ft).The four-engined Me 323C was considered merely a stepping stone to the six-engined D series; it still required the five-engined or the highly dangerous, Troika-Schlepp formation of three and underwing-mounted Starthilfe units 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 – 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.Design. Gigant wing, showing wing gun positions and on each wing panel.As per the Me 321, the Me 323 had massive, semi-, high-mounted wings which were braced from the fuselage out to the middle of the wing. To reduce weight and to save on, much of the wing was made of and fabric, while the fuselage was of metal tube construction with wooden and covered with fabric, with heavy bracing in the floor to support the payload.The 'D' series had a crew of five: two pilots, two and a operator. Two gunners could also be carried.

The flight engineers occupied two small, 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 Starthilfe (rocket assisted takeoff) units used on the Me 321 were required for take off. The RATOs 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 (36 ft) long, 3 m (10 ft) wide and 3.4 m (11 ft) high. A Me 323 unloads a in, January 1943By September 1942, Me 323s were being delivered for use in the, and entered service in the Mediterranean theater in November 1942. The high rate of loss among shipping had made necessary a huge airlift of equipment across the Mediterranean to keep 's supplied.On 22 April 1943, a formation of 27 fully loaded Me 323s was being escorted across the by of when it was intercepted by seven squadrons of. Of the 27 transports, only six reached their destination; the remaining 21 of the Me 323s were lost while three of the P-40s were shot down by the escorts.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 (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.Variants., pp. 511–512. Harvnb error: no target: CITEREFGreen.

Hyland and Gill 1999, p. 78. lonesentry.com. Retrieved: 1 November 2010. Staerck et al. 2002, pp. 202–203.

Weal 2003, p. 92. Green 1979, p. 655. ^ Smith and Kay 1978, p. 560. Preserved Axis Aircraft. Retrieved 16 September 2012. Nick Squires (13 September 2012). The Daily Telegraph.

Retrieved 16 September 2012. Parsons, Chris (September 14, 2012). London, UK: DMGT. Retrieved February 3, 2014. Yust 1944, pp. 32–33. Lednicer, David.

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