Sunken Remains of a ME-323 found off Sardinia

[Warbirdnerd]

(ANSA) – Cagliari, September 12 – The wreckage of the only known example of a mammoth, Nazi-era, German airplane was found by a diver in waters near the Italian island of Sardinia. The Me-323 "Gigant" was the largest land-based transport aircraft used in World War II. The German airforce produced about 200 models of the plane, which had a 55-metre wingspan and six engines. The planes were 10 metres tall, 30 metres long and weighed 45 tonnes. Military history buff and diver Cristina Freghieri found the sunken wreckage 64 metres under the sea near La Maddalena archipelago at the northeastern tip of Sardinia, after a year-long hunt through archives and history studies. The Me-323 was shot down by a British plane during an air battle on July 26, 1943. A Milan bookseller specialized in military history tipped Freghieri off to recent work by a historian retracing the flight of the British plane, locating the area where it had downed the German transport plane. In early January, Freghieri went to La Maddalena and began dropping a wire-guided camera into the water. A local fisherman, Mario Vitello, took her to a location where he thought the plane had gone down. She began trying the area on May 27 and found the sunken plane the next day. "It was a dive, a little forced due to fatigue from the morning's work. It was a pure emotional charge to suddenly see the airplane in the veiled blue of the sea. First we saw a piece of a sheet of metal, then another until the plane appeared, in an explosion of images, in all its beauty. My heart skipped a beat," Freghieri said. Freghieri's friend, Aldo Ferrucci, accompanied her on her adventures.

Found it here:
http://www.gazzettadelsud.it/news/engli ... dinia.html

[Richard W.]

That's incredible news.

I wonder what they will find inside the wreck.

[TAdan]

Wow, what a find!

[expat]

"I wonder what they will find inside the wreck.""
Miss Erhart and Glen Miller ......just dont tell them tiger people ....












sorry it's been one of those days ................

[Wildchild]

None are left?

You would think it couldnt be that hard to make a replica of the Glider version...

It did only take Germany 2 weeks to build one...

[JägerMarty]

No pictures yet?

[Rick65]

I knew that Beaufighters shot many of these down during attempts to supply Afrika Corps.
Even so the following from Wiki amazed me
"On 22 April 1943, a formation of 27 fully loaded Me 323s was being escorted across the Sicilian Straits by Bf 109s of JG 27 when it was intercepted by seven squadrons of Spitfires and P-40s. Twenty one of the Me 323s were lost while [4] three of the P-40s were shot down by the escorts."

It would have taken lots of fortitude to lumber along in a Me 323 (136mph max) hoping not to run into any allied fighters.

[Steve Nelson]

I wonder what they will find inside the wreck.

Not much. The Gigant had a steel-tube frame fabric-covered fuselage, with mostly plywood wings. It was probably torn up pretty good on impact, and about the only thing left at this point would be the fuselage frame and engines. Still a fascinating find, though!

SN

[Russ Matthews]

No pictures yet?

Click on the link below to see some photos posted to the Axis History Forum yesterday (Sept 12, 2012) by "chrisss91."

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=192638&p=1731650

I spotted the link courtesy of "Peter D Evans" in a similar discussion thread on the FlyPast Aviation History board.

[Mossie]

More here, appears it was shot down by an RAF Beaufighter



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/worl ... coast.html

[airnutz]

......about the only thing left at this point would be the fuselage frame and engines.

Not splitting hairs here, but I thought the 323 also had a full-span steel tube truss spar as well.

[Enemy Ace]

What I want to know is what this christina chick looks like. Is she hot???

[happymeal]

Google her name and check her website... she is one hot italian chick !

[DaveM2]

......about the only thing left at this point would be the fuselage frame and engines.

Not splitting hairs here, but I thought the 323 also had a full-span steel tube truss spar as well.

There is a complete spar at one of the German museums, I think that is the only substantial surviving piece of a 323 above water.
Be interesting to know what cargo, if any, this one was carrying.

[Warbird Kid]

Would it be feasible to recover whatever is left from this wreck, and combine it with that complete spar (and a whole lot of engineering and new parts) to create one complete ME-323?

How cool would it be to see that!