I share with you this extensive and fantastic collection of photos of one of the largest aircraft designed and built during World War II and operated by the Luftwaffe, including detailed photos and some rare color photos. Curious? Want to know which plane we talking about? Then visit the link below and see this amazing collection of photos:
http://aviacaoemfloripa.blogspot.com.br/2011/01/um-gigante-nos-ceus.html
Best Regards!
Dude, we have descussed a tonns of simular themes and photos of aircrafts there decade before. Hardly anuthing simular might cause our special curiousity. It well known fact that the Giant was a biggest ( and helpless against AA-gunfire ) plane of Luftwaffe.
Not just AA fire, I believe a lucky squadron of USAAF fighters stumbled upon a number of Giants. I can’t recall the exact number shot down but it was between six and a dozen…
It was a lot more:
On 22 April 1943, a formation of 27 fully loaded Me 323s was being escorted across the Sicilian Straits by Bf 109s of JG 27 when it was intercepted by seven squadrons of Spitfires and P-40s. Twenty one of the Me 323s were lost while [4] three of the P-40s were shot down by the escorts.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_323#Operational_history
Ha, i can imagine how guys were enjoing shoting those monstrouse and slowly moved aircrafts. BTW on the african theather the germans lost 83 of me 323 and only 25 from fighter’s fire. The rest just crashed on landing or been hit from the ground. It was such a easy target that , once i read the one of 323 was shot down by the …partisan unit with their very limited avialiable firearms. Don’t exactly know how it might happend;)
Being essentially a glider, I can imagine any severe evasive maneuvers would stress the air-frame if loaded to the hilt, as they were ferrying supplies to North Africa…
They trued to supply also the 6 army of Paulus in Stalingrad. With the predictible resault;) Also i watched the DW when they used 323 to evacuate the axis troops from Crimea in 1944.