The Me 323 Gigant cruised at just 135 mph with a top speed of 177 mph making it a slow lumbering target for Allied fighters while its fabric-covered steel-tube airframe earned the Afrika Korps nickname Leukoplastbomber for soaking up small-arms fire yet burning fiercely when loaded with fuel drums. Defensive guns were limited to a handful of 13mm MG 131 machine guns with no armor plate over engines or crew so without strong escort it was easy prey especially over the Mediterranean. On 22 April 1943 a formation of 27 fully loaded Me 323s lost 16 or 17 to Spitfires and P-40 Kittyhawks in one day over the Sicilian Straits despite Bf 109 escorts.
Built as a motorized variant of the Me 321 glider, the Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant was Nazi Germany's six-engine heavy transport beast of WWII, the largest land-based cargo plane to fly in the war. Powered by French Gnome-Rhône radials, it hauled up to 26,000lbs, with a 181ft wingspan and top speed of just 177mph. Around 200 were built from 1942-44, mostly supporting the Soviet Union and Tunisian campaign before Allied fighters made them easy targets. This footage was labeled, "Logistics, Messerschmitt Me-323 Gigant, Soviet Union, 1944".
Photos have now confirmed the destruction of a AN/TPY-2 Forward Based X-band Transportable Radar operated by the U.S. Army, following an Iranian drone attack earlier this week targeting Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. The AN/TPY-2 is the primary ground-based air surveillance radar for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) System, with this specific radar likely supporting THAAD Batteries in Israel and Jordan.
The AMX 50/120 Surbaissé is moving!
During the winter closure, the musées des blindés de Saumur 🇨🇵 is rethinking its displays. The most significant shift is moving away from nationality-based organization, with armored vehicles & tanks now arranged by historical period.
https://t.co/3gcEpW1HMr
Today, we are opening an entirely new and truly meaningful chapter in our relations—relations between Ukraine and Sweden, and more broadly, overall security relations in Europe.
Today, we have the first document signed between our countries, paving the way for Ukraine to acquire a substantial fleet of Swedish-made fighter jets—Gripens. These are great aircraft, strong aviation platforms capable of performing a wide range of missions. Everyone can see what threats they help counter. We expect that the future contract will enable us to obtain at least 100 of these jets.
I thank @SwedishPM Ulf Kristersson and Sweden for their readiness to cooperate on this matter, as well as the Saab company, which manufactures the Gripens.