German Messerschmitt Me-321 ''Gigant'' Cargo Plane

By Crusader1307

One of several Glider Model Aircraft deployed by The German Army in World War ii, The ‘’Gigant’’ saw very limited use towards the end of The War. Used as a large Cargo Transport vehicle, as with most Glider Aircraft, it required the use of a “Tow Aircraft’’. As such – (due to it’s size), this was difficult in finding a suitable Aircraft to be able to “launch” The ‘’Gigant’’. Expensive to produce, only 200 were manufactured. First developed in 1941, The ‘’Gigant’’ required a Crew of (3). It was 92-feet in length with a wingspan of 180-feet. In Weight, The ‘’Gigant” was close to 30,000-pounds. It required (3) Tow Aircraft to be airborne. This required the (3) Aircraft to maintain a minimum of 110-mph to achieve. Once airborne, (6) 8-Cylinder Radial Engines maintained long range flight operations. Self-defense armament was either a (2) to (4) package 7.92mm Machine Gun deployment through the Glider. The ‘’Gigant’’ could support close to 80,000-pounds of weight. Other than photographs, none have survived into the 21st Century.