Italeri 1115 - 1/72 ME 321B-1 Gigant WWII   [IT-1115S]

Period: 2nd World War

Country: Germany

Model Dim.: 39 cm

ME-321 B-1 Gigant Glider

This big transportation glider was made underneath the instructions regarding the German army at the beginning of World War II. In 1940, throughout the drafting of plans for an intrusion of England, the need to quickly go huge amounts of troops and equipment emerged. This is perhaps not attainable using the vessels and standard Ju 52 transport aircraft that have been in use at that time. In December 1940, following the failure of the want to invade England, Germany began its assault on Russia, and, once more, discovered the necessity to rapidly go troops and gear, because of the great distances and insufficient suitable roads. The Me 321 entered into solution in June 1941. Featuring its capacity to carry 130 equipped soldiers or an IV Panzer tank, it appeared as if the right solution for the German basic staff. However, several problems instantly emerged. There have been no aircraft with the capacity of towing this giant glider and the use of no less than 3 twin-engine Bf 110s had been needed for a single glider, which implied eliminating them from their place regarding the front line; because hefty fat, the Me 321 was unable to duplicate the landing procedure in case of a mistake, special gear ended up being needed to maneuver it on a lawn and in addition it needed big areas for take-off and landing.