Sunken Remains of a ME-323 found off Sardinia

redvanner · **Posted:** Fri Sep 14, 2012 5:19 pm

DaveM2 wrote:

airnutz wrote:

Steve Nelson wrote:

......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.

It is at the Luftwaffenmuseum Gatow, Berlin-Gatow (it´s the former British (RAF) airfield). Have been there last year, many planes, but somehow I missed the Me 323 spar (might have been in one of the hangars not open for public at that time).

If anyone is interested in my pics:

http://s281.photobucket.com/albums/kk20 ... lin-Gatow/

official site of the former Luftwaffenmuseum, now MHM:

http://mhm-gatow.de/en/

Michael

JägerMarty · **Posted:** Fri Sep 14, 2012 6:04 pm

Hey Michael, any word on the FW190D9 project at Gatow? havn't had an update on it years

airnutz · **Posted:** Fri Sep 14, 2012 6:08 pm

DaveM2 wrote:

airnutz wrote:

Steve Nelson wrote:

......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.

I had forgotten about that one Dave, but I recall over the years seeing a photo of one of the Me323 spars at a captured German airstrip somewhere around the Mediterranean or N. Africa.

If folks go to http://www.preservedaxisaircraft.com to the "German aircraft section" and scroll down to the bottom to "Relics" , then Messerschmitt, there is a photo of the beast. Quite impressive.

airnutz · **Posted:** Fri Sep 14, 2012 6:16 pm

Warbird Kid wrote:

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?

Anything is possible with a mega bank account and a certain amount of mass hysteria. I hear a guy is planning on building a replica of the Titanic in the future....he might be your man!

redvanner · **Posted:** Fri Sep 14, 2012 6:21 pm

JägerMarty wrote:

Hey Michael, any word on the FW190D9 project at Gatow? havn't had an update on it years

When I visited there, I asked about it. I was told it were at the backburner, as there were other, more pressing projects at the moment. I had the impression, it was (and still is) a) lack of trained people, and b) lack of money, but that is my subjective view. Interestingly I just had a look for any updates on the net, but the best I could find was this: (I have no idea how far they might be at the moment, sorry!)

http://daedalus-berlin.de/index.php?opt ... 2&Itemid=2

Michael

Russ Matthews · **Posted:** Sat Sep 15, 2012 2:56 pm

More photos can be seen here ...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2203219/Found-70-years-Divers-discover-wreckage-Second-World-War-Giant-German-transport-plane-shot-British-fighter-flying-base-Sardinia.html

Kyleb · **Posted:** Sat Sep 15, 2012 4:08 pm

That tubular truss spar is impressive.

Cherrybomber13 · **Posted:** Sat Sep 15, 2012 7:59 pm

That's a friggen Huge... It looks like a bridge!

bgp429 · **Posted:** Sat Sep 15, 2012 10:32 pm

It really is amazing what Germany constructed during WW2.

old iron · **Posted:** Sun Sep 16, 2012 1:52 am

There is an original main spar for an Me.323 at the Luftwaffe Museum in Gatow. It entends essentially wingtip to wingtin (see Preserved Axis Aircraft, in the relic section). So, a more or less complete fuselage frame could possibly be used to produce a complete restoration, though probably more of reproduction using original parts.

Warbird Information Exchange

Sunken Remains of a ME-323 found off Sardinia

Who is online