Before going to war in 1939 Germany had explored and developed the use of parachute and airborne troops, thus ensuring that man-made barricades (such as the Maginot Line or Albert Canal) or natural barriers (such as the Kithirai Channel) would provide no hindrance to gaining a strong foothold in desirable territory. Early deployment of airborne forces had shown the need for gliders of greater capability than, for example, the DFS 230 used to capture the Belgian fort of Eben-Emael. There were many advantages in using gliders as opposed to free fall paratroops: the unit was not dispersed and troops did not need often precious moments to disentangle themselves from shroud lines or a billowing parachute.

Consequently Junkers and Messerschmitt competed in 1940 to design and develop a very large transport glider suitable for the delivery of men or materials. Junkers' Ju 322 Mammut (Mammoth) spanned 62.0m and would have accommodated more than 100 fully equipped troops, but when tested proved to be unstable and was cancelled by the Reichsluftfahrtministeriurn. On the other hand Messerschmitt's Me 321 was a most successful design of braced high-wing configuration and with construction of welded steel tube, wood and fabric. The pilot was perched high on the fuselage in a single-seat cockpit, adjacent to the wing's leading edge. Access to the main cabin was via large clamshell doors in the nose or by doors on each side of the rear fuselage. A payload of 22,000kg could be carried.

The Me 321 VI prototype flew first in March 1941 and Me 321A-1 production aircraft entered service in May of that year. The later Me 321B-1 had a crew of three and defensive armament of four 7.9mm MG 15 machine-guns. Me 321 (some 200 built) were towed usually by a trio of Bf 110C or by the unusual five-engined Heinkel He 111Z. Rocket units could be used to assist take-off from rough fields.

The Me 323 was, in effect, a powered version of the Me 321, basically similar except for strengthening and the installation of engines in nacelles of the same type as those designed for the Bloch 175: four in the original prototype and six in subsequent prototype and production aircraft (about 200 built). Versions included the Me 323D, E and F (plus variants), with a variety of engines, defensive armament and fuel capacity. They were no easy machines to fly, often needing rocket or towing assistance to get them airborne. Slow and vulnerable - despite heavy defensive armament - they suffered severe losses when ferrying supplies to the Afrika Korps in the closing stages of the North African campaign.

3-View

A three-view drawing (1000 x 670)