Commando 41-5163

VARIANT: Curtiss C-46-CU Commando

USAAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 41-5163

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 26365

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU5

FATE: Written off

  September 1942 to December 1943

  41-5163 - USAAF (USA)

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21 September 1942

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

Assigned to New York LaGuardia, NY, maybe with American Airlines for operational proving flights.

17 July 1942

Returned to Curtiss briefly, presumably for modifications.

29 May 1943

Assigned to ATC Caribbean Wing.

31 July 1943

Assigned back to the continental USA.

14 December 1943

Destroyed by fire at New Castle AAB, DE.

 

Some time in 1942, 41-5163 took part in a promotional photo shoot for Life Magazine. What a stark contrast between these pictures and the actual war photos of Commandos in India or China that would be shot a few months later!
Photo credit: Life Magazine / USAF