Gents,

JRT,

The Me 321 Gigant was the result of requirements put out to 'tender' after the BoB and first flew in early 1941. It speaks volumes for German efficiency when considering that the prototype flew just three and a half months after detailed plans had been completed. The idea was to develop and bring up to strength a huge heavy glider fleet which would be used in a further attempt to invade Britain after Hitler had completed the expected speedy demolition of the Soviet Union.

Glider troops were certainly included in the initial Sealion planning and would have been used to secure airfields, starting with Lympne, although throughout the BoB they were still under strength after expenditures incurred during the Battle of France. In view of their vulnerability at this period we can see another reason why the importance of air superiority was paramount. An attempted invasion in late '41 or early '42 would have had to be made in the face of a rejuvenated Fighter Command just as capable of checking the Luftwaffe as it was in 1940 - and probably more so. Therefore, the use of gliders at night would have been the only way to deploy them without facing decimation by day.


'Find your enemy and shoot him down - everything else is unimportant.'

Manfred von Richtofen
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