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On 22nd April, 1943 South African Air Force Kittyhawks and Spitfires of 1, 2, 4 and 5 Squadrons intercepted a formation of fourteen Me 323 Gigants and a small escort of fighters between Cape Bon and the small island of Zembra. Alongside Polish Spitfires of 145 SQN RAF and later arrivals from 112 SQN and 260 SQN RAF and 450 SQN RAAF, all fourteen Me 323s were shot down into the Tunisian sea with very few Allied losses. Many of the Gigants shot down carried up to 12 tons of fuel and supplies which explained their uncharacteristically fiery demise and easy nature to shoot down. The unsustainably high loss of the Gigants in the Cape Bon massacre and dozens of other transports in other supply missions led to Reichsmarschall Herman Goering and Field Marshal Albert Kesselring to halt the doomed air supply of the Afrika Korps.

Thanks to Henry Lamshed for the improved audio!

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Patreon members: Ethan Esgro, David from Czechia, Ren

Sources
Messerschmitt Me 321/323: The Luftwaffe's Giants in World War II
by Hans-Peter Dabrowski
Giant Killers: Battling the Axis transport aircraft - Britain at War, 2013
SAAF WWII Heritage https://fritzjohl.yolasite.com/home.php

Music: ‘Legacy’ and 'Pathfinder' by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Visuals: IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 with BAT mods https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.ph...

#sotocinematics #history #il2

0:00 Intro
1:08 Channel and sponsorship segment
2:30 Cape Bon massacre