Germany's Massive Transport That Struggled To Fly: Messerschmitt Me 321 Gigant

Video Description

In this video, we take a look at the Messerschmitt Me 321 Gigant, a heavy cargo plane and transport glider from World War II. We first talk about the phrase "spend money to make money", before moving to Germany's effort to construct a heavy transport. We talk about Operation Sea Lion, how it necessitated a heavy transport, and the two projects that came from this need in the Me 263 and the Junkers Ju 322 Mammut. We talk about the swift failure of the Ju 322, and the early stages of the Me 263, that was quickly renamed to the Me 321. We talk about the design's immense size and massive cargo load, and how, in initial testing, they struggled mightily to get it into the air. We talk about the multiple ways they attempted to make liftoff easier, from rockets to the Heinkel He 111Z to a trio of Bf 110 heavy fighters, and how none of these ended up being sufficient. We talk about the Me 321's eventual failure, and the shift over to a powered version in the Me 323 Gigant.