The Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant ("Giant") was a German military transport aircraft of World War II. It was a powered variant of the Me 321 military glider and was the largest land-based transport aircraft of the war.

The aircraft was a strut-braced high-wing aircraft of a mixed design, with deck empennage, a multi-wheeled chassis that could not be removed in flight, and a six-engine power plant. The aircraft is based on the Me 321 airframe and is similar in design to it. The main differences are as follows.

The wing of the aircraft has been modified for the installation of propulsion engines. The main power truss of the center section is reinforced and equipped with overlays for engine mounts. Each plate is made as a single unit, which is attached to the truss with four bolts. In the toes of the center section between the internal engines, there are the cabins of mechanics, and there is a manhole for access to all the engines. The plywood sheathing of the socks in the areas of the engine exhaust pipes is covered with sheet metal. Around the wing cannon installations, the linen sheathing was replaced with plywood.

Tandem chassis - along each side of the fuselage there are 5 wheels covered with a duralumin fairing. The front pair of wheels is of a smaller diameter and has its own suspension system, the three main wheels have their own. The suspension includes a beam, rod levers for the suspension of the wheels, two (one for the front pair of wheels) liquid-gas shock absorbers and one (two) spring damper. The main wheels are equipped with pneumatic brakes.

The power plant included 6 piston engines. Basically, a radial two-row air-cooled Gnome-Rhone 14N48 / 49 engine with a metal variable-pitch propeller of the Raitier or Chanviere type was used. On the right half-wing, GR 14N48 motors were installed with the right rotation of the shaft, and on the left - GR 14N49 with the left rotation. The fuel was stored in six sealed tanks located in the center section. The total supply of gasoline reached (on the Me 323E) 10740 liters.

The hydraulic system was powered by hydraulic pumps installed on the propulsion engines.

A total of 213 are recorded as having been made, a few being converted from the Me 321.

Photo	Description
	Drawing Me 323D-1
	Me 323 and the lorry "Follow me"
	Me-323 - Opened front cargo door.
	"Gigant" at airfield in Italy , August, 1943.

Bibliography

• Warplanes of the Third Reich /Green, William.н/
• Messerschmitt Me 321/323: The Luftwaffe's "Giants" in World War II. /Dabrowski, Hans-Peter./