Commando 41-24710

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

USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 41-24710

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 26631

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU271

FATE: Written off

  September 1943 to May 1944

  41-24710 - 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 7, Sookerating, Assam, India.

26 April 1944

Received major damage in Sookerating, Assam, India in a taxi accident (no fatality).

Pilot: Leland E. Howell

While taxiing, the Commando went out of control and then came to rest. The left propeller was damaged.

28 April 1944

Damaged beyond repair in Sookerating, Assam, India in a forced landing following an engine failure (no fatality).

Pilot: Lloyd R. McKeehan

Following the accident two days prior, the left propeller was repaired. During the maintenance test flight that followed, the left propeller was feathered. However, the pitch went beyond feather into reverse. The pilot managed to straighten the aircraft and made a crash landing. The crew survived, but the Commando was destroyed.

2 May 1944

Condemned for salvage.

Right: 41-24710 after its accident in Sookerating, 28 April 1944.
Photo credit: Rebecca Robertson Haskett / ASN