Jetrader - Winter 2016 - 44

aviation history

Messerschmitt Gigant
By Jack Feir

It Began with Troop-Carrying Gliders
During World War II, both Germany and the Allies made use
of troop-carrying gliders; Germany, in particular, developed an
exceptional variety of such gliders. Their first models could carry
a dozen or more troops to be towed up to altitude by a bomber or
transport aircraft, and then released to quietly land for surprise
attacks at night. Unlike parachute troops, who can become scattered when dropped, the gliders could be flown accurately and
landed at specifically selected targets with all the troops and
their equipment right at hand.
When the first German glider assault unit was formed, it was
intended to be deployed for an invasion into France in November
1939 (later postponed), and finally used to good effect against
Belgium in May 1940. In that brief battle, roughly 40 gliders,
each carrying about a dozen commandos, swooped silently onto
the heavily guarded Eben Amael fortress near the border of
Germany and Belgium before dawn. Technically outnumbered
by about four to one, but with the element of surprise, in a few
hours the troops had captured the fort and held three strategic
bridges until German ground forces arrived the next day. Without
the initial glider assault, Germany estimated it would have taken
months for ground forces alone to seize the fortress.

The Rise of the Titans
Following the fall of France in June 1940, if Germany were next
to invade Britain, as was optimistically planned for November
1940, troop gliders would be needed on a much larger scale.
In preparation for the invasion, the Junkers and Messerschmitt
factories had each been tasked to produce an initial batch of
100 monster gliders. The design requirement was for a payload of

20 metric tons (about 44,000 lbs.) and to be able to accommodate
tanks, half-track trucks and artillery pieces, or up to 100 fully
equipped troops.
Both projects were ready by the spring of 1941, but by then,
the Luftwaffe had failed to win air superiority in the Battle of
Britain, and the invasion was postponed indefinitely. Instead,
Germany launched the invasion of Russia in June 1941, so there
would still be a need for airborne heavy-lift capabilities in that
theater as well as in North Africa.

The Mammut
The design chosen by Junkers was the Ju 322 Mammut
("Mammoth"), which did not get beyond the prototype stage;
its wooden construction was not up to the task. During a test
of the cargo floor, a tank fell straight through it, and the wings
also would require major reinforcement. As it was, the maximum
payload had to be cut back to 11 metric tons, barely more than
one-half of the desired capability. Moreover, some reports stated
that it would be impossible to find enough aircraft-quality lumber
to build so many wooden airplanes.
Only one Mammut was completed. The maiden flight took place
in April 1941, using a Junkers Ju 90 four-engine transport to tow
it into the air. Once airborne, the Mammut glider rose higher than
the towplane, pulling the towplane's tail up and threatening to
drive it headlong into the ground. The cable was released and the
glider landed in a field off the airport. It took two weeks for tanks
to clear a path and drag the glider back to the airport. Later, a
few successful test flights were completed, but the project was
cancelled in May 1941. The prototype Mammut and several partially completed others were eventually "repurposed" as firewood.

44 The official publication of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading

Jetrader - Winter 2016

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