WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant

The Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant

The Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant - Germany
By Salem

The Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant (Giant) was one of the biggest aircraft in WWII.
It was also the first to have clamshell doors.
This German military transport aircraft could carry 150 fully armed troops or a light tank.
The only downside of the Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant was that it couldn't unload it's cargo in the air.
But having four machine guns, the ability to land on rough airstrips and a massive cargo hold more than made up for this.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch

The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch

The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch
Germany
By Salem

The tiny Fieseler Fi 156 Storch spotter plane was designed for operation in extremely restricted spaces.
The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch was often used for staff transport but also worked closely with ground troops.
Despite it's frail appearance, it was a great scout aircraft and saw service in the Desert Campaign in North Africa.
Nearly 3,000 Fieseler Fi 156 Storchs were produced between 1937 and 1945 at the Fieseler Factory.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The JU 52/3M

The JU 52/3M

The JU 52/3M - Germany
By Salem

The JU 52/3M was Germany's main military transport aircraft.
It was first developed in the early 1930's and was first used as a commercial transport aircraft before being used in the Spanish Civil War.
They were later used in bombing missions before being used in WWII as the Luftwaffe's main troop transporter.
The JU 52/3M was also used as an ambulance aircraft, glider tugs and even as seaplanes.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Heinkel He 59

The Heinkel He 59

The Heinkel He 59 - Germany

By Salem

The Heinkel He 59 was a seaplane often used for air-sea rescue duties.

It had been designed as a torpedo bomber and during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) and was a member of the Condor Legion.

The pilots soon discovered that the Heinkel He 59 made an ideal night bomber and could glide silently towards the enemy.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Heinkel He 115

The Heinkel He 115

The Heinkel He 115 - Germany

By Salem

The Heinkel He 115  was a sleek improvement of the Heinkel He 59.

Even though it was a seaplane of German design and build, it was used not only by the Germans but also Norway and even the R.A.F. had used them.
This had confused the Germans and once two German Heinkel He 115s had landed in a Norwegian held fjord because they had seen other Heinkel He 115s and were captured.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Blohm und Voss BV138

 The Blohm und Voss BV138

 The Blohm und Voss BV138

Germany

By Salem

One of the notable seaplanes of the Luftwaffe was the triple- engined Blohm und Voss BV138 flying boat.

The German pilots had a kind of nickname for this aircraft, they called it the "Flying Shoe".

When the Blohm und Voss BV138 was first tested, it was found to be unsuitable in rough water conditions, so it was taken away and redesigned.
The newly designed aircraft was inadequately armed, but as the war progressed it became more and more armed.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Heinkel he 111

The Heinkel he 111

The Heinkel he 111 - Germany

By Salem

The Heinkel he 111 was the Luftwaffes' most famous medium bomber.

It was designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s and was in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

A vast variety of this type of aircraft were built during WWII some were even being used for torpedo attacks.

The Heinkel he 111 was also occassionally used to carry troops, but this was not as unusual as it sounds because this type of aircraft had began as a pre-war airliner with Luft Hansa.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Messerschmitt Me 262

The Messerschmitt Me 262

The Messerschmitt Me 262

Germany

By Salem

The Messerschmitt Me 262 was the world's first jet propelled fighter to go into service, that was in 1944.

It caused quite a stir with the Allies when it was first introduced. 

Mustang pilot Bud Anderson had the new German jet fighter in his sights. But as he closed in, the jet "just shrank up and vanished."

The Messerschmitt Me 262 had streaked away from him at more than 540 MPH which was 100 miles per hour faster than the P-51.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Messerschmitt BF109

The Messerchmitt BF109

The Messerschmitt BF109 - Germany

By Salem

The Messerschmitt BF109 was without doubt one of the greatest single seat fighters in aviator history.

It was first used in 1936 in the Spanish Civil War.  This had provided invaluable testing for Germany and they then built around 33,000  Messerschmitt BF109 fighters during 1936 - 1945.

The fighters served in many battles including the Battle of Britain and the Invasion of Poland.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet

Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet

The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet - Germany
By Salem

The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet was one of the most exciting war planes ever built.
It made it's first flight in 1941 but due to it's radical design, it didn't enter service until 1944.
The Komet was powered by a rocket engine and could climb up to 9140 metres in two and a half minutes.
But it did have an unquenchable thirst for fuel and it could only fly for ten minutes before it needed to be re-fueled.  
To reduce weight, the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet had a detachable undercarriage, and to be able to land it had to skid on its belly.
But it's life was short lived as by the time they were introduced into service, the Nazi's were staring at defeat.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Henschel HS 123

The Henschel HS 123

The Henschel HS 123 - Germany

By Salem

The Henschel HS 123 was a small German war plane.  It was virtually un-used between 1939 - 1940.

It was then taken out of service in 1940, but soon the Germans began to wish that they had kept the old  Henschel HS 123 in production rather than withdrawing it from front-line service.

It was finally re-called for the fight against the Russians. Then when one Luftwaffe commander insisted in no uncertain terms that production should be re-started immediately, it was discovered that all the tools and construction jigs had been destroyed.  The Germans then had no alternative but to press back into service the remaining Henschel HS 123 planes.