Commando 42-101043
Aircraft Identification
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
Operational Record
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 4th Combat Cargo Group, 14th Combat Cargo Squadron based at Bowman Field, KY.
Mid-November 1944
Ferried from Morrison Field, FL to Sylhet, Bengal, India.
Crew:
1st Lt. Hugh B. King, Pilot
2nd 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 14th 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: 1st Lt. Hugh B. King
Early January 1945
Moved to Agartala, Tripura, India with the 14th Combat Cargo Squadron.
Late January 1945
Moved to Chittagong, Bengal, India with the 14th 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 14th Combat Cargo Squadron.
Transported ammunition, gasoline, mules, and men to China.
November 1945
Moved to RAF Ondal, Bengal, India with the 14th Combat Cargo Squadron.
April 1946 to October 1954 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]
Last edited: 05/09/2020