Commando 41-12357

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

USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 41-12357

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 26484

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU124

FATE: Written off

  May 1943 to September 1943

  41-12357 - USAAF (USA)

1 May 1943

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

Assigned to Detroit Wayne County, MI.

  September 1943 to unknown date

  41-12357 - NORTHWEST AIRLINES (USA)

16 September 1943

Leased to Northwest Airlines, based in St Paul Minneapolis, MN.

  Unknown date to October 1944

  41-12357 - USAAF (USA)

Unknown date

Returned to USAAF.

1944

Probably assigned to the 3^rd Operational Training Unit (3 OTU) at Reno AAF, NV.

26 October 1944

Damaged beyond repair over Reno AAF, NV in a midair collision. (5/5 + 7 fatalities).

Crew:
1^st Lt Paul V Frykman
1^st Lt Robert H Heintz
Flt Off Frederick W Dulfer, Jr
Cpl Robert Y. Goebel
Cpl Leland F Heckman

The Commando was engaged in a circular training mission at Reno AAF. After completing a tour around the airport, the crew started the approach by night when it struck another USAAF Commando registered 42-96716 that was following the published instrument letdown and carried a crew of seven. Following the collision, both aircraft went out of control and crashed few miles from the airport. Both aircraft were destroyed and all 12 crew members were killed.

Condemned for salvage.

[accident erroneously reported to have occurred on 26 October 1945 by AB, condemned for salvage that same day and reclamation completed 1 January 1946]

1 January 1945

Reclamation completed.