German Support Aircraft & Gliders
Although taking the lead from early experiments with paratroops carried out by the Soviet Union, it was the German Luftwaffe who first employed paratroops and glider-borne troops in 1940. From the paradrops in Norway and Holland, and the glider landings on the Belgian forts at Eben Emael, to the climax of German airborne operations with the assault on Crete in May 1941, the Ju-52 was the transport workhorse of the Wehrmacht, the German Armed Forces. 1942 saw the appearance of the Messerschmitt Me-323 'Gigant', a six-engined variant of the Me-321 glider.
Covered in this program are glider operations in Italy, and even the employment of DFS 230s to re-supply garrisons on the Oder front in 1945. Also shown are reconnaissance, trainer and liaison aircraft, which made a vital contribution to the role of the Luftwaffe on all fronts in the Second World War.
