- Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant
The original design of this Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant was intended as a transport glider. Later the airframe was fitted with six radial engines which enabled it to carry aircraft to serve their purposes. It was also vastly used during the World War II to airlift military equipment.
The redesigned airplane could airlift a Panzer IV or an 88mm gun and its half-track.
This powered variant of the Me 321 military glider was the largest land-based transport aircraft of the war. It was also extensively used during Rommel’s campaigns in Africa. Being slow, it, however, suffered significant losses at the hands of allied forces.
- Linke-Hoffman R.II
Another one of the historic German planes, the R.II was one of the most distinctive airplanes ever built.
Perhaps the most unique aspect of the Linke-Hoffman R.II was the size of its propeller. The R.II was a biplane, three times the size of a standard biplane. It had a single propeller that measured 6.9 meters tall and powered by four engines.
This propeller was by far the largest ever mounted on an aircraft. And the airplane itself was the largest ever to fly on a single propeller.
The Germans developed this aircraft for the WWI, but it was never ready for flight until sometime after the war was over.
- Tupolev ANT-20
If you have met the term the “Voice in the Sky”, then you have encountered Tupolev ANT-20.
This Russian plane was vastly used to broadcast Stalinist propaganda, the element it is most remembered for. The initial model was named after Maxim Gorky, a Soviet writer. This featured a radio station, library, printing press and a sound enabled film projector. It later suffered a fateful crash killing 45 people on board.