Commando 41-12339
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-10-CU Commando
USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 41-12339
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 26466
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU106
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
April 1943 to February 1944
41-12339 - USAAF (USA)
15 April 1943
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.
Assigned to the 2nd Operational Training Unit (2 OTU) at Homestead AAF, FL.
Late 1943
Likely assigned to the 3rd Operational Training Unit (3 OTU) at Reno AAF, NV.
18 February 1944
Crashed in the American River Canyon, CA after crew bailed out due to a cockpit fire (2/5 fatalities).
The Commando departed McClellan Field, CA at 00:45 on a flight to Reno AAF, NV. Some 15 minutes after takeoff, arcing wiring ignited hydraulic fluid. The fire burned though oxygen lines and de-icer lines. All crew members bailed out, but two died when exiting the plane. The aircraft crashed in flames near the American River, south of the airbase.
19 February 1944
Surveyed, condemned for salvage.