Me 323 Gigant found off coast of Sardinia

I wonder if there's much left to salvage after 70 years. To reduce weight
and to save on aluminum, much of the wing was made of plywood and fabric,
while the fuselage was of metal tube construction with wooden spars and
covered with doped fabric. But there's always the chance that some
billionaire will put up the cash to raise and restore it...
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Nazi Leviathan unearthed after 70 years: Divers discover wreckage of 'Giant'
German Luftwaffe transport plane shot down by British fighter while flying
from base in Sardinia

By CHRIS PARSONS

But a small team of divers and amateur historians have since 'stumbled upon'
the wreckage hundreds of feet underwater, claiming the rusting Messerschmitt
is amazingly still intact.

Remarkably, divers found the wreckage while they were searching for another
sunken plane.

Aldo Ferruci, a diving instructor and photographer who took pictures of the
wreck, told The Daily Telegraph: 'It was just by chance that we found it
because we were actually looking for a different plane wreck.

'We had understood that the Me-323 was in a totally different location so we
were lucky to stumble on it.

'It is in good condition – it is almost intact, with the six engines still
all in line.'

Other experts described the find as one of 'great historical importance'.

Second World War historians say they are aware of 'no other complete
surviving Messerschmitt-323 Giant in existence.'

There were an estimated 213 Messerschmitt 323s made, with the transport
plane's first flight in 1942, before it was retired in 1944.

It could take a load of up to 12 tonnes, or 120 fully-equipped men, and
could reach speeds of around 210km/h (130mph), though variants like the D-6
could reach up to 285km/h (177mph).

MESSERSCHMITT 323 (D-6): HOW IT MEASURED UP
CAPACITY: 130 troops/10-12 tonnes of equipment
LENGTH: 28.2m (92ft 4in)
WINGSPAN: 55.2m (181ft)
HEIGHT: 10.15m (33ft 4in)
MAXIMUM SPEED: 285km/h (177mph)
CRUISE SPEED: 218km/h (136mph)
CLIMBING RATE: 3.6m/s (710ft/min)

Only around 200 of the giant planes were ever produced, with the
Messerschmitt's seeing action between 1942 and 1944.

The Messerschmitt came into use due to the Germans' demand for airlifting
vehicles and weaponry overseas as part of the Nazis' plan to invade Great
Britain.

Freight was loaded on to the enormous planes through double doors that
formed the curved nose of the plane.

The wartime discovery is the second in the space of three months, after
divers found the wreckage of an Italian navy battleship, also off the
Sardinian coast.

Experts found the Roma 69 years after it was sunk by the Germans, in an
incident which claimed 1,400 lives.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-Sardinia.html