Commando 41-24708

VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-25-CU Commando

USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 41-24708

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 26629

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU269

FATE: Written off

  September 1943 to February 1944

  41-24708 - USAAF (USA)

20 September 1943

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

18 December 1943

Assigned to ATC India-China Wing based at Station 9, Mohanbari, Assam, India.

31 January 1944

Went missing on a flight over the Hump (4/4 missing). [MACR 2093]

The Commando departed Mohanbari, Assam, India at 0423 GMT for Kunming, Yunnan, China on a routine cargo flight. The route forecast was overcast, with tops over 24,000 ft. Winds at 18,000 ft were estimated to be southwesterly at 70 mph. Enroute, probably while flying on instruments, the aircraft crashed in a mountainous region of Arunachal Pradesh. Search operations were suspended after a few days as no trace of the aircraft could be found.

Crew:
Capt Alvin N. Catalano, Pilot
2^nd Lt Robert F. Kearns, Copilot
Pfc John T. Briggette, Radio Operator
Cpl J. W. Sadler, Engineer

28 February 1944

Condemned for salvage.

1962

Hunters discovered the wreckage on the slope of a mountain, at an altitude of 12,000 feet, near the village of Goliang, Arunachal Pradesh, India. [this location cannot be found anywhere] Debris were spotted some 400 feet from the mountain top.