Commando 44-77564

VARIANT: Curtiss C-46D-10-CU Commando

USAAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 44-77564

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 32960

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU1496

FATE: Broken up

  December 1944 to March 1946

  44-77564- USAAF (USA)

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13 December 1944

Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.

Assigned to I Troop Carrier Command based at Baer Field, IN.

Remained within the continental USA.

  March 1946 to April 1948

  44-77564 - RFC (RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION) (USA)

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8 March 1946

Transferred to RFC and stored at Walnut Ridge AAF, AR.

  April 1948 to September 1948

  NC51802 - UNITED SERVICES FOR AIR INC. (USA)

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5 April 1948

Registered.

  September 1948 to December 1949

  XT-160 - CNAC (CHINA NATIONAL AVIATION CORPORATION) (CHINA)

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30 September 1948

Purchased.

13 November 1949

Registration certificate suspended by the Nationalist government.

  December 1949

  XT-160 - CLAIRE L. CHENNAULT & WHITING WILLAUER (USA)

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12 December 1949

Purchased by Claire Chennault & Whiting Willauer, managers of CAT – while the aircraft was at an unknown location. This was part of an attempt supported by the US State Department to regain ownership of several CNAC & CATC aircraft.

  December 1949 to July 1953

  N8381C - CAT (CIVIL AIR TRANSPORT) (TAIWAN)

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19 December 1949

Transferred to CAT and registered.

26 February 1953

Registration cancelled, transferred to CAT SA, Panama.

  July 1953 to October 1955

  N4658V - CAT (CIVIL AIR TRANSPORT) (TAIWAN)

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21 July 1953

Returned to Civil Air Transport.

23 July 1953

Registered.

  October 1955 to September 1966

  N612Z - ZANTOP FLYING SERVICE (USA)

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19 October 1955

Purchased.

12 May 1960

Reregistered.

 

Right: N612Z in Zantop colors at Ontario, CA on 8 March 1963.
Photo credit: Hufford / American Aviation Historical Society

  September 1966 to December 1969

  N612Z - UNIVERSAL AIRLINES (USA)

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21 September 1966

Transferred as Zantop became Universal.

 

Left: N612Z now in Universal Airlines colors, unknown date & location.
Photo credit: Historische Airlines & Airliners

  December 1969 to July 1971

  N609SE - SPAN EAST AIRLINES (USA)

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30 December 1969

Purchased.

27 July 1970

Reregistered.

  July 1971 to January 1975

  N609SE - ORTNER AIR SERVICE (USA)

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31 July 1971

Purchased by Quanama West Indies Company of Wakeman, OH, to be operated by Ortner Air Service.

13 September 1972

Certificate of airworthiness expiry.

Mid-1970's

Seized by the Internal Revenue Service at Wakeman, OH.

  January 1975 to June 1975

  N609SE - PRIVATE (USA)

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9 January 1975

Purchased by Martin E. Ellsworth of Vermilion, OH.

  June 1975 to August 1979

  N609SE - CASAIR (USA)

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27 June 1975

Purchased.

  August 1979 to September 1997

  N609SE - PRIVATE (USA)

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23 August 1979

Purchased by William F. Peel of Chevy Chase, DC.

20 September 1982

Certificate of registration issued.

1980's

Abandonned at Santo Domingo Las Americas, Dominican Republic.

Unknown date

Broken up.

11 September 1997

Registration cancelled, destroyed.

 

Right: N609SE at San Juan Luis Munoz Marin, PR on 29 March 1980, still wearing defunct CASAIR titles.
Photo credit: Danny Grew / AirHistory.net

Below, left: the same still in San Juan in April 1980. Despite her looks, she was still operating!
Photo credit: Jan Koppen / OldJets.net

Below, right: N609SE derelict at Santo Domingo Las Americas, January 1987.
Photo credit: Urs Baettig / Flickr