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History, Me321
During the preparation for a possible invasion of Britain during World War II (Operation Sealion) it became obvious to the Luftwaffe's Transport Command that the distances involved and the amount of cargo that would have to be transported required better transport aircraft than its mainstay, the Ju 52.[1]
When the plans for Operation Sealion were shelved in December 1940, and planning began for the invasion of Russia (Operation Barbarossa), it was decided that the most cost-effective solution to the need for transport aircraft was to use gliders. Accordingly, the Technical Bureau of the Luftwaffe issued a tender for rapid development of a Grossraumlastensegler (large-capacity transport glider) to the aircraft manufacturers Junkers and Messerschmitt. The specification called for the glider to be capable of carrying either an 88 mm gun plus its tractor, or a medium tank. The codename Projekt Warschau (Project Warsaw) was used, with Junkers being given the codename Warschau-Ost and Messerschmitt Warschau-Sud.
However, the Junkers design, the Ju 322 Mammut was unsuccessful due to the company opting to use all-wood construction.
