V8. Production examples were designated C-09 to C-13. Operational history V1 made seven flights between Hamburg and Kirkenes up to 19 August 1941, transporting a total of of supplies and 221 wounded men, covering a distance of in total. After being overhauled at Hamburg, V1 was sent to Athens, from where it carried supplies for the Afrika Korps, making 17 flights between 16 October and 6 November 1941. The V1 was at this time unarmed, and was given an escort of two Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters. Following these flights, the V1 returned to Hamburg to have defensive armament fitted, comprising a 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 81 machine gun in the hull, two turret-mounted 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns, and four 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 81s in waist mounts. The registration was changed to X4+AH at the same time and the V1 formed the basis for the new air transport squadron Lufttransportstaffel 222 (LTS 222). Between 1942 and 1943, the aircraft flew in the Mediterranean theatre, until in mid-February 1943 it sank following a collision with a submerged wreck while landing at Piraeus harbour. The V2 (CC+ER) made its first flight on 7 August 1941, and after extensive testing was assigned to LTS 222 on 10 August 1942 as X4+AB. Since the aircraft was intended for long-distance overwater flights, in addition to the armament fitted to the V1 it received two rear-facing wing-mounted turrets with dual 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131s, accessed via the tubular wing spar which was in diameter. In 1944, the V2 participated in Operation Schatzgräber ("Treasure Seeker"), the code name of a German weather station at Alexandra Land in the Arctic, whose sick crew needed to be evacuated. The BV 222 dropped a spare wheel for a Fw 200 which had sustained damage during landing near the station. The V3 (initially DM+SD) first flew on 28 November 1941, and was transferred to LTS 222 on 9 December 1941. After V1's sinking, V3 returned to Hamburg where it was armed. It was destroyed along with V5 on 20 June 1943 at Biscarrosse by RAF de Havilland Mosquitos of No. 264 Squadron RAF. V4, which had an altered height tail, was also assigned to LTS 222 for Africa flights. V6 was shot down on 21 August 1942 on the Taranto to Tripoli route by a Bristol Beaufighter; V8 was shot down on