Commando 42-3679
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-35-CU Commando
USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-3679
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 26812
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU452
FATE: Broken up
Operational Record
January 1944 to February 1944
42-3679 - CURTISS-WRIGHT CORPORATION (USA)
January 1944
Transferred from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY to the one in Louisville, KY.
February 1944 to February 1946
42-3679 - USAAF (USA)
7 February 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Louisville, KY.
2 March 1944
Assigned to ATC Central African Wing.
2 July 1945
Assigned to Morrison Field, FL.
February 1946 to May 1948
42-3679 - RFC (RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION) (USA)
26 February 1946
Transferred to RFC, stored at Ontario AAF, CA.
May 1948
May 1948 to April 1959 May 1959 to November 1960
N9841F - SEVEN SEAS AIRLINES (USA)
17 May 1959
Purchased to fulfill a United Nations contract in Congo Leopoldville, and christened “Baltic Sea”.
1960
Delivered.
13 October 1960
Received major damage in Marseilles, France after a landing gear collapse while being ferried to Congo. Repaired.
November 1960 to mid-1961
N9841F - ONUC (UNITED NATIONS OPERATION IN THE CONGO)
November 1960
Wet-leased by Seven Seas Airlines to the United Nations mission in Congo, and used by Katangese President Moise Tshombe as his personal aircraft.
Mid-1961 to 1964
N9841F - SEVEN SEAS AIRLINES (USA)
Mid-1961
End of lease contract with the United Nations.
Remained stored in Elizabethville, Congo Leopolville.
August 1963
Ferried back to Brussels, Belgium for refurbishment.
1964 to December 1966
N9841F - PRIVATE (USA)
1964
Purchased by Burton Katlin, Jersey City, NJ and ferried to the USA. [sometimes erroneously spelled “Kattin”]
December 1966 to February 1967
N9841F - AIRCRAFT MODIFICATIONS INC. (USA)
1 December 1966
Purchased.
February 1967 to June 1968
TI-1053C - LACSA (LINEAS AEREAS COSTARRICENSES SA) (COSTA RICA)
9 February 1967
Leased from Aircraft Modifications Inc.
June 1968 to December 1971
N9841F - AIRCRAFT MODIFICATIONS INC. (USA)
25 June 1968
Returned from lease contract with LACSA.
December 1971 to May 1974
N9841F - CARIBBEAN AIR SERVICE (USA)
31 December 1971
Purchased by William Bohlke, founder of Caribbean Air Service, to be operated by his airline.
May 1974 to August 1982
N9841F - CASAIR (USA)
1 May 1974
Purchased.
Below, left: N9841F taxiing out in San Juan Luis Munoz Marin, PR on 28 March 1980.
Photo credit: Danny Grew / Airliners.net
Below, right: N9841F parked in San Juan, October 1981, its paintjob faded by the Caribbean sun…
Photo credit: www.goodall.com.au
October 1984 to October 1995
HK-3150 - SELVA (SERVICIO AEREO DEL VAUPES) (COLOMBIA)
9 October 1984
Purchased and christened “Rin Rin”.
Below, left: Rin Rin receiving some maintenance in Villavicencio, Colombia, on 12 November 1992.
Photo credit: Peter Garwood / Flikr
Below, right: a still relatively shiny HK-3150 is taxiing out for another flight from Villavicencio, Colombia on 10 September 1994.
Photo credit: Peter Garwood / Flikr
October 1995 to September 2019
HK-3150 - PRIVATE (COLOMBIA)
October 1995
Purchased.
Seems to have spent most of its time stored at Bogota El Dorado, Colombia, sometimes engineless, in between several restauration attempts. Today, HK-3150 remains abandoned there.
17 September 2019
Broken up for scrap between 07:00 and 12:00 LT with engines installed, using a mechanical shovel, on the apron abeam of runway 13R threshold at Bogota El Dorado, Colombia.
Below, left: HK-3150 stored in Bogota, Colombia on 4 March 2008. Note only the “Selva” part of its titles has been removed.
Photo credit: Burmarrad / airplane-pictures.net
Below, right: HK-3150 seen in Bogota on 24 January 2018, in desperate need of tender loving care.
Photo credit: Andres Ochoa / Jetphotos.com
Last edited: 04/01/2024