The Me 323 was the result of a 1940 German requirement for a large assault glider in preparation for Operation Sea Lion, the projected invasion of Great Britain.

The DFS 230 light glider had already proven its worth in the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium (the first ever assault by gliderborne troops), and would later be used in the invasion of Crete in 1941.

However, in order to mount an invasion across the English Channel, the Germans would need to be able to airlift vehicles and other heavy equipment as part of an initial assault wave.

The emphasis was still very much on the assault role; the ambitious requirement was to be able to carry either an 88 mm gun and its half-track tractor, or a Panzer IV medium tank.

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.

French Gnome et Rhône GR14N radial engines, rated at 1,180 PS (1,164 hp, 868 kW) for take-off as used in the Bloch MB.175 aircraft were chosen for use.

It still required the five-engined Heinkel He 111Z Zwilling or the highly dangerous "vic-style" Troika-Schlepp formation of three Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters and underwing-mounted Walter HWK 109-500 Starthilfe rocket-assisted take-off units to get airborne when fully loaded, but it could return to base under its own power when empty.

High losses among Axis shipping required a huge airlift of equipment across the Mediterranean to keep Rommel's Afrika Korps supplied.

On 22 April 1943, a formation of 27 fully loaded Me 323s was being escorted across the Sicilian Straits by Messerschmitt Bf 109s of Jagdgeschwader 27 when it was intercepted by seven squadrons — Supermarine Spitfires (No.

Later D- and E- versions differed in the choice of power plant and in defensive armament, with improvements in structural strength, total cargo load, and fuel capacity also being implemented.

It was shot down by a British Bristol Beaufighter long-range fighter on 26 July 1943, while flying from Sardinia to Pistoia in Italy.

[12] Data from Britannica Book Of The Year 1944;[13] German Aircraft of the Second World War[8]General characteristics Performance Armament