Messerschmitt Me 323 "Gigant" transports ferrying equipment in the Mediterranean Theater circa 1943

The Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant, literally "Giant", was a German military transport aircraft of World War II. It was a powered variant of the Me 321 military glider and aptly named as the largest land-based transport aircraft to fly during that period.

A total of 198 Gigants would be built before production ceased in April 1944. Several production versions were built, beginning with the D-1. Later D- and E- versions differed in the choice of power plant and in defensive armament, with improvements in structural strength, total cargo load, and fuel capacity also being implemented. Nonetheless, the Me 323 remained underpowered and a proposal to remedy this with the installation of six BMW 801 radials was dropped. It was also a short ranged aircraft, with a typical range loaded of 1,000–1,200 km. Despite this, the limited numbers of Me 323s in service were an asset to Axis forces and saw extensive service in a variety of theaters.

The aircraft visible in this footage are D models, lacking the wing turrets characteristic of the later E series, that could carry up to 12 tons of cargo. The aircraft can be seen bristling with machine guns and a Bf 110 escort also appears in the clip but in spite of these measures they remained vulnerable to Allied aircraft. One particularly disastrous day for the type was April 22nd 1943 when more than half of a formation of 27 Gigants was shot down near Sicily.

In the clip a Sd.Kfz. 251 half track weighing around 8 tons is seen to be unloaded at 1:28 as well as a 20mm Flak gun and a 7.62cm Pak 36(r) anti-tank gun at 1:44 that was a modified version of the Soviet 76mm divisional gun M1936 (F-22). The type was captured in significant numbers during Operation Barbarossa in 1941. Modified for use against armor at a time when the 5cm Pak 38 was lacking and the 7.5cm Pak 40 was not widely available, it gave good service in the Western Desert. The latter weapon is accompanied by its Sd.Kfz. 7 half track tractor. At 1:48 the remains of a burned out Junkers Ju 52/3m appear in the foreground with several intact examples of the type in the background.

An Sd.Kfz.10 towing a 7.5cm Pak 40 is unloaded at 2:04 and the half track bears the markings of 10. Panzer-Division, suggesting that the footage dates from late 1942 or early 1943. Allied forces landed in North Africa in November 1942 and the division was transported across the Mediterranean around this time to reinforce the Axis positions. Here it participated in the Battle of Kasserine Pass and several of the other early battles with units of the US Army, newly committed to the conflict. It also took part in the failed Axis offensive of Operation Ochsenkopf in late February 1943. When the Axis line collapsed in May 1943, the division was trapped and surrendered on May 12th 1943, never to be reconstituted.