Commando 42-101043

VARIANT: Curtiss C-46D-5-CU Commando

USAAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-101043

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 30498

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU1034

FATE: Unknown

  September 1944 to unknown date

  42-101043 - CURTISS-WRIGHT CORPORATION (USA)

11 September 1944

Transferred from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY to the one in Louisville, KY.

  Unknown date to April 1946

  42-101043 - USAAF (USA)

Unknown date

Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Louisville, KY.

Assigned to the 4^th Combat Cargo Group, 14^th Combat Cargo Squadron based at Bowman Field, KY.

Mid-November 1944

Ferried from Morrison Field, FL to Sylhet, Bengal, India.

Crew:
1^st Lt. Hugh B. King, Pilot
2^nd Lt. Thomas R. Hoover, Copilot
Sgt. Richard L. Foraker, Crew Chief
Sgt. Raymond K. Murray, Radio Operator

30 November 1944

Ferried through Karachi, Sindh, India.

Early December 1944

Arrived in Sylhet, Bengal, India with the 14^th Combat Cargo Squadron.

Transported reinforcements and supplies for Allied forces in Burma.

December 1944

Transported material and equipment for the Ledo Road.

20 December 1944

Received major damage in the China-Burma-India theatre in a bird strike.

Pilot: 1^st Lt. Hugh B. King

Early January 1945

Moved to Agartala, Tripura, India with the 14^th Combat Cargo Squadron.

Late January 1945

Moved to Chittagong, Bengal, India with the 14^th Combat Cargo Squadron.

February 1945

Transported men, mules, and boats to support the Allied crossing of the Irrawaddy River, Burma.

May 1945

Dropped Gurkha paratroops during the assault on Rangoon.

June 1945

Moved to Namponmao, Burma with the 14^th Combat Cargo Squadron.

Transported ammunition, gasoline, mules, and men to China.

November 1945

Moved to RAF Ondal, Bengal, India with the 14^th Combat Cargo Squadron.

  April 1946 to October 1954

  42-101043 - INDIAN GOVERNMENT (INDIA)

10 April 1946

Purchased.

  October 1954 to May 1955

  N75292 - AVIATION EQUIPMENT EXPORT (USA)

October 1954

Purchased.

November 1954

Registered.

4 May 1955

Ferried from India to Miami, FL via Fortaleza, Brazil by Chartair Inc.

  May 1955 to October 1957

  PP-ITI - COMPANHIA ITAU DE TRANSPORTES AEREOS (BRASIL)

25 May 1955

Purchased.

27 April 1956

Registered.

  October 1957 to July 1959

  PP-ITI - TAN (TRANSPORTES AEREOS NACIONAL) (BRAZIL)

22 October 1957

Transferred as Itau was absorbed by TAN.

  July 1959 to June 1960

  PP-ITI - PRIVATE (BRAZIL)

22 July 1959

Purchased by Remo de Paoli of Belo Horizonte, a local architect become gold and diamond digger in the State of Minas Gerais.

23 September 1959

Received major damage in Rondonopolis, Brazil during a crash landing into a swamp (no fatalities). [probably between Rondonopolis and Cuiaba]

Remained at the accident site.

  June 1960 to August 1963

  PP-ITI - TAS (TRANSPORTES AEREOS SALVADOR) (BRAZIL)

9 June 1960

Purchased in situ by TAS and allotted PP-SLM registration but never taken up.

Remained at the accident site.

  August 1963 to December 1963

  PP-ITI - PRIVATE (BRAZIL)

23 August 1963

Purchased by Pedro Maio Araujo, Brazil, still in situ at the accident site.

Sale broken by DAC (Department of Civil Aviation) as the aircraft had been imported duty free for airline use.

Abandoned at the accident site.

  December 1963 to unknown date

  PP-ITI - VARIG (BRAZIL)

December 1963

Donated to VARIG by Joao Goulart, the owner of the land that the aircraft sat on.

Wreck transported to Porto Alegre for overhaul.

22 November 1968

Registration cancelled.

21 January 1969

Last seen.

Fate unknown. [PL mentions a possible 1977 accident]