me 323

[mike siggins]

could the 323 fly with a panzer IV also do u know when the last time they flew

 

[Shortround6]

No

1944?

 

[Thorlifter]

Wiki shows the capacity limit of the 323D-6 being 10-12 tons. The panzer IV was about 25 tons.

 

[Shortround6]

Even an early MK IV goes 17 tons which not only sucks up the cargo capacity but just about the entire fuel load too.

Running out of fuel just a few km beyond the end of the runway doesn't make for a good transport mission

 

[vikingBerserker]

The last mention of any service I can find in Messerschmitt Me 321/323 The Luftwaffe's "Giants" in World War II by Hans-Peter Dabrowski is Dec 1944 on the Eastern Front in IV./TG 4. More were destroyed in 1945 on airfields but do not appear to have been used for anything. The heaviest single unit I can find it ever having carried was a Marder SPG at 11 tons. The most advanced version that had any actual design work on was Z Me 323 F and that could only carry a max of 18.2 metric tons.

If you like the plane Dabrowski's book is the best on it that I've found yet.

 

[Nynjazen]

Doe's anybody know how many ME 321 / 323 were destroyed during WW2 by RAF ?
Thanks a lot,
Nynjazen

 

[nuuumannn]

Out of interest's sake, there's a main spar of one on display at the Luftwaffen Museum at Gatow, Berlin. Looks like a frame-work from a crane.