Messerschmitt Me 323: The "Giant" That Was Slow, Huge, and Flammable. Rare Restored Footage. The Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant (Giant) was the largest land-based transport aircraft to fly during World War II. Born out of the necessity to move heavy equipment across the Mediterranean to support the Afrika Korps, the Me 323 was a motorized development of the earlier Me 321 heavy glider. When the Luftwaffe realized they lacked sufficient towing aircraft for the massive glider, the decision was made t