The Curtiss Commando Page
The Curtiss Commando Page
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Sorting 3,181 Commandos and displaying them in a sensible manner is no easy task. We have decided to sort them by Serial Number blocks, as the USAAF attributed one to each Commando produced. Most blocks include a single variant of the aircraft, but there are a few exceptions. In any case, the search funtion at the top right of each page is an easy way to find a Commando by its S/N, C/N, L/N or registration. The following table shows all variants of Commandos ordered or produced:

 

USAAF Designation Curtiss Des. Qty SN MSN CN Notes
C-55 C-55 CW-20A 1 41-21041 41-21041 101 101 - - Prototype
C-46 C-46-CU 25 41-5159 41-5183 26361 26385 CU1 CU25 Pre-production, Buffalo plant (CU)
C-46A C-46A-1-CU CW-20B 21 41-5184 41-5204 26386 26406 CU26 CU46  
C-46A-1-CU 4 41-12280 41-12283 26407 26410 CU47 CU50  
C-46A-1-CK 18 43-46955 43-46972 26 43 CK3 CK20 Pre-production, Louisville plant (CK)
C-46A-1-CS 2 43-46953 43-46954 24 25 CK1 CK2 Pre-production, St Louis plant (CS)
C-46A-1-HI 2 43-43339 43-43340 - - HI1 HI2 Pre-production, Higgins New Orleans plant (HI)
C-46A-1-HI 0 43-43341 43-43838 - - - - Order for 498 aircraft cancelled
C-46A-5-CU 50 41-12284 41-12333 26411 26460 CU51 CU100  
C-46A-5-CK 60 43-46973 43-47032 44 103 CK21 CK80  
C-46A-10-CU 50 41-12334 41-12383 26461 26510 CU101 CU150  
C-46A-15-CU 50 41-12384 41-12433 26511 26560 CU151 CU200  
C-46A-20-CU 50 41-24640 41-24689 26561 26610 CU201 CU250  
C-46A-25-CU 50 41-24690 41-24739 26611 26660 CU251 CU300  
C-46A-30-CU 36 41-24740 41-24775 26661 26696 CU301 CU336  
C-46A-30-CU 14 42-3564 42-3577 26697 26710 CU337 CU350  
C-46A-35-CU 96 42-3578 42-3683 26711 26816 CU351 CU456 Mixed order
C-46A-36-CU 10
C-46A-40-CU 56 42-107318 42-107373 27005 27060 CU645 CU700  
C-46A-40-CU 49 42-60942 42-61091 26817 26966 CU457 CU606 Mixed order
C-46A-41-CU 101
C-46A-41-CU 38 42-107280 42-107317 26967 27004 CU607 CU644  
C-46A-45-CU 261 42-96529 42-96802 30191 30464 CU727 CU1000 Order mixed with C-46D-1-CU
C-46A-45-CU 26 42-107374 42-107399 27061 27086 CU701 CU726  
C-46A-50-CU 10 42-96803 42-96828 30465 30490 CU1001 CU1026 Order mixed with C-46D-5-CU
C-46A-50-CU 67 42-101036 42-101235 30491 30690 CU1027 CU1226 Order mixed with C-46D-5-CU
C-46A-55-CU 2 44-77444 44-77893 32840 33289 CU1376 CU1825 Order mixed with C-46D-10-CU
C-46A-55-CK 170 43-47033 43-47202 104 273 CK81 CK250  
C-46A-60-CK 102 43-47203 43-47304 274 375 CK251 CK352  
C-46A-60-CK 88 43-47315 43-47402 386 473 CK363 CK450  
C-46A-60-CS 10 43-47305 43-47314 376 385 CK353 CK362 Pre-production, St Louis plant (CS), to gear up for C-46E production
C-46D C-46D-1-CU CW-20B-2 13 42-96529 42-96802 30191 30464 CU727 CU1000 Order mixed with C-46A-45-CU
C-46D-5-CU 16 42-96803 42-96828 30465 30490 CU1001 CU1026 Order mixed with C-46A-50-CU
C-46D-5-CU 133 42-101036 42-101235 30491 30690 CU1027 CU1226 Order mixed with C-46A-50-CU
C-46D-5-CU 149 44-77295 44-77443 32691 32839 CU1227 CU1375  
C-46D-10-CU 448 44-77444 44-77893 32840 33289 CU1376 CU1825 Order mixed with C-46A-55-CU
C-46D-15-CU 451 44-77894 44-78344 33290 33740 CU1826 CU2276  
C-46D-20-CU 200 44-78345 44-78544 22168 22367 CU2277 CU2476  
C-46E C-46E-1-CS CW-20B-3 17 43-47403 43-47419 2929 2945 CK451 CK467  
C-46E-1-CS 0 43-47420 43-47952 - - - - Order for 533 aircraft cancelled
C-46F C-46F-1-CU CW-20B-4 234 44-78545 44-78778 22368 22601 CU2477 CU2710  
C-46F 0 44-78779 44-78944 - - - - Order for 166 aircraft cancelled
C-46G C-46G-1-CU CW-20B-5 1 44-78945 44-78945 22768 22768 CU? CU?  
C-46G 0 44-78946 44-79244 22769 23067 - - Order for 299 aircraft cancelled
C-46H C-46H 0 44-79245 44-79494 23068 23317 - - Order for 250 aircraft cancelled
C-46H 0 44-79495 44-79544 23318 23367 - - Order for 50 aircraft cancelled
C-46H 0 45-43900 45-44449 - - - - Order for 550 aircraft cancelled
C-46J C-46J 0 45-43783 45-43899 - - - - Order for 117 aircraft cancelled
C-46K XC-46K CW-20H 0 - - - - - - Not confirmed
C-46L XC-46L CW-20I 0 45-43780 45-43782 - - - - Order for 3 aircraft cancelled
    Total 3,181             Plus 2,466 orders cancelled

 

A word about the various numbers attributed to each aircraft:

  • SN or Serial Number: the aircraft number in the sequence of all aircraft ordered by the USAAF;
  • MSN or Manufacturer Serial Number: the aircraft number in the sequence of aircraft produced in each Curtiss plant;
  • CN or Construction Number: the aircraft number in the sequence of all Commandos produced in an individual Curtiss plant. St Louis (CS) and Louisville (CK) shared the same sequence.