Luftwaffe Aircraft Blueprint Sheet for the Messerschmitt Me 321 “Gigant” Cargo Glider

The single sheet is approximately 7-7/8 inches by 11 inches. The paper shows age toning and some foxing, with staple holes in the upper corner. The Messerschmitt Me 321 “Gigant” was a large German cargo glider developed and used during World War II. Intended to support large scale invasions, the Me 321 saw very limited use due to the low availability of suitable tug aircraft, high vulnerability whilst in flight and the difficult ground handling, both at base and at destination landing sites. The Me 321 was developed, in stages, into the six-engined Messerschmitt Me 323, which removed some of the problems with ground handling, but vulnerability to ground fire and aerial attack remained a constant problem during operations of all variants

The document bears the title of “Flugzeugtypenblatt” (“Aircraft Type Sheet”) and includes the printed designation of “Geheime Kommandosache (“Secret Command Matter”). This diagram sheet was one of a large group of such blueprints of aircraft, including prototype and experimental aircraft, that were seized at the office of Reichmarshal Hermann Goring at the German experimental weapons testing and launching site at Peenemunde. They were found and taken by a U.S. Navy officer who was later with the Technical Intelligence Liaison Unit of the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics. Included in this listing is a photograph of a portion of a card that was affixed to the file folder containing the blueprints and identifying their origin. This card is not included with the blueprint.