Commando 41-12361

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

USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 41-12361

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 26488

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU128

FATE: Written off

  May 1943 to September 1943

  41-12361 - USAAF (USA)

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4 May 1943

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

Assigned to Detroit Wayne County, MI.

28 June 1943

Damaged in Billings, MT in a landing accident. Northwest Airlines pilot.

  September 1943 to April 1944

  41-12361 - NORTHWEST AIRLINES (USA)

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16 September 1943

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

  April 1944 to October 1945

  41-12361 - USAAF (USA)

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28 April 1944

Returned to USAAF, assigned to Brookley Field, AL.

  October 1945 to unknown date

  41-12361 - RFC (RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION) (USA)

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25 October 1945

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

  Unknown date to December 1949

  N????? - CALIFORNIA ATLANTIC AIRWAYS (USA)

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Unknown date

Purchased from RFC.

  December 1949 to July 1951

  CB-39 - LAB (LLOYD AEREO BOLIVIANO) (BOLIVIA)

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4 December 1949

Purchased.

24 April 1950

Damaged in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Rebuilt.

  July 1951

  CP-539 - LOIDE AEREO NACIONAL (BRAZIL)

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21 July 1951

Purchased

29 July 1951

Crashed in Cochabamba, Bolivia while taking off for the delivery flight (7/7 fatalities).

The Commando was bought 8 days prior by Loide Aéreo Nacional of Brazil from Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano and had to be delivered to Rio de Janeiro. Shortly after takeoff from Cochabamba, while in the initial climb, the airplane hit a tree and crashed in flames. All seven occupants were killed.

The aircraft was still wearing registration CB-39. Apparently, CP-539 was never taken up.

[often quoted incorrectly as being 41-12367]

 

Right: a newspaper shot of CB-39 / CP-539 after its crash in Cochabamba.
Photo credit: unknown