The genesis of the Me 323 Gigant (giant) transport was in a 1940 German requirement for a large assault glider in preparation for Operation Sealion, the projected invasion of Great Britain. The DFS 230 light glider had already proven its worth in the famous attack on Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium (the first ever assault by gliderborne troops), and would later be used successfully in the Crete invasion in 1941. However, the prospect of mounting an invasion across the English Channel focused minds on the need to be able to airlift vehicles and other heavy equipment as part of an initial assault wave. Although Operation Sealion was cancelled, the requirement for a heavy air transport capability still existed, with the focus now on the forthcoming Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the USSR. On 18 October 1940, Junkers and Messerschmitt were given just 14 days to submit a proposal for a large transport glider. The emphasis was still very much on the assault role: the ambitious requirement was to be able to carry either an 88mm gun and its half-track tractor, or a PzKpfw IV medium tank. The Junkers Ju 322 Mammut reached prototype form, but was completely unsatisfactory due to its all-wood construction and was scrapped. The Messerschmitt was originally designated the Me 261w, was then changed to Me 263, and eventually became the Me 321. Although the Me 321 saw considerable service in Russia, it was never used for a Maltese invasion, or for any other such aerial assaults. 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 Gnome GR14N radial engines rated at 990 hp (740 kW) as used in the Bloche MB.175 aircraft; using French engines would place no burden on Germany's overstrained industry.[1] Initial tests were conducted using four Gnome engines attached to a strengthened Me 321 wing, which gave a modest speed of 210 kilometres per hour (130 mph) - 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph) slower than the Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft. A fixed undercarriage was fitted, which comprised four small wheels in a bogie at the front of the aircraft with six larger wheels in two lines of three at each side of the fuselage, partly covered by an aerodynamic fairing. The rear wheels were fitted with pneumatic brakes, and could stop the aircraft within 200 metres (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 Heinkel He 111Z Zwilling or the highly dangerous Troikaschlepp formation of three Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters and JATO to takeoff when full laden, but 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 six engines were fitted to reduce torque - a trio of clockwise rotation engines mounted on the port wing, and a trio of counterclockwise rotation engines on the starboard wing. Design Gigant wing, showing wing gun positions

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