From the September 14th Discovery News by Rosselina Lorenzi.
Italian researchers have found the wreck of a huge German airplane off the coast of the island of Sardinia. This one was shot down by a British fighter plane.
The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) made nearly 200 of these huge planes, Messerschmidtt-323s, and used them from 1942 to 1943. They were the largest land-based transport planes used by either side during World War II.
And, massive they were, with a 181-foot wingspan, six engines, 92 feet long and 33-feet tall with the capability of carrying 12 tons of cargo or 120 soldiers which were loaded through huge double doors that formed the curve of the nose..
However, the M-323s were slow and difficult to maneuver and many were shot down as easy targets for Allied fighters.
And, This Is the Only One Left. --GreGen
My Cooter's History Blog has become about 80% World War II anyway, so I figured to start a blog specific to it, especially since we're commemorating its 70th anniversary and we are quickly losing this "Greatest Generation." The quote is taken from Pearl Harbor survivor Frank Curre, who was on the USS Tennessee that day. He died Dec. 7, 2011, seventy years to the day. His photo is below at right.
Monday, September 17, 2012
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