From the side too ( for Mike ' Maxidyne ') by neiwil
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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
The towing arrangement for the Me-321 (Gigant) came in three parts.
(1) A pair of cables 8m long attached to the He111Z and linked to the towing hawser.
(2) The main towing hawser was 112m long.
(3) Four cables linked to the hawser and attached to the Me-321, these were each 14m long....134m total.
The above information and the top image may explain my choice of a head-on view in yesterdays post.
I suppose the next logical question would be "do I have a powered Me-323 version"? ....ask me again tomorrow :-)
As always, thanks for looking and any comments...

Comments (20)
Very nice job on these images. The "close-ups" give a much better idea of the arrangement. IF they had had better towing aircraft this could very well have been a viable system. It's not too far from what the allies developed, but on a larger scale. It's interesting that the wings are mounted at the roof and not the floor - requires a lot of suspension strength, but my guess is the wing shouldn't easily hit the ground and spin the plane around on landing. With 6 engines on the wings, this could have been a decent carrier. Would have cost less than building all those He 111Z tow planes in addition to the gliders. Keep up the good work! I just can't figure how you manage to produce so many good models in so short a time, and then all the renders. Phenomenal! Keep up the good work! :-)
Prticularly like the bottom image.
It's a real good thing that their command was stodgy and conservative or we would have had a much worse time of things. Nicely done.
Mabe another idea that was developed too soon and under pressure to get things done. Makes you wonder how different aircraft development would have been had Germany worked on all these in a time of peace. Stunning models, I suspect we will be seeing the powered version coming to a screen near you :) Thanks so much for the dedication neil, didn't see it at first as still recovering from a late night :)
Fantastic images and models! Corrie
Pretty darn impressive, Neil! This really shows the whole concept and the scale. Your previous render was an excellent way to show the whole show on one stage so to speak. Well thought out and executed on both renders.
The cable arrangement sounds like a side issue for military planners but imagine the ground handling of such a thing...then loading it back into the towing aircraft for a return flight, etc. The wing root is huge on the glider...and to think all of this aeronautical engineering was done with slide rules and models in early wind tunnels. And then I think of the carpentry skills needed to craft such a thing all from wood... P.S. Did you know that William Boeing was 1) the son of a German immigrant and 2) a wooden boat builder before turning to airplanes?
You have surpassed yourself Neil! What about offering it as a front cover for the new Jack Higgens book.." The Elephant has landed"
Superb.
at first, I thought this was the P-38 lightning {my favorite of the fighter planes}. Outstanding image.
Wow,those things were massive. Fantastic render!!
Better and better.This serie is amazing! Amazing work my friend!
Outstanding mate.
Excellent work.
Neil (and indeed others), have you noticed how this, the Me321 and other prototype German WW2 aircraft have turned up in today's designs still. Look at it.. High wing, wheels in a row with suspension, cam-shell doors at the front.. Stick jets under the wings and make it metal and you almost have a modern lifter!!! These guys were SO far ahead of us.. Thank goodness they acted like the UK Government, and couldn't wipe their backside.. If the armed forces of Germany GOT what was promised earlier, we would have lost the war! No number of Mustangs or Spitfires could take on Me262's.. and so it goes down the line.. Tanks, guns etc.. We WOULD have lost! Excellent Neil! WANT!!! Rob
Jeez! Give you a saw and a hammer and look what happens!!!!!
stunning work
Great perspective views.
There is rather a "flying elephant" style to it- or maybe water buffalo??? Increible engineering, great renders and models.
Always thought the Gigant was one of the Nazi's more impressive designs.