Commando 42-101077
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-50-CU Commando
USAAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-101077
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 30532
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU1068
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
September 1944
42-101077 - USAAF (USA)
15 September 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.
September 1944 to 1956
39573 - US MARINE CORPS (USA)
15 September 1944
Transferred as R5C-1 and delivered to NAS San Diego, CA.
23 September 1944
Assigned to Homeland Defense Network (HDN), MAG-35.
December 1944
Assigned to VMR-352, probably based at MCAS Cherry Point, NC.
10 February 1945
Assigned to VMR-353, based on Saipan, Mariana Islands.
January 1946
Assigned to VMR-252, probably based at MCAS Ewa, HI.
June 1946
Assigned to NAS San Diego, CA.
22 October 1946
Reconditioned at NAS San Diego, CA.
November 1946
Assigned to VMR-952, based at MCAS Cherry Point, NC.
August 1947
Assigned to VMR-352, based at MCAS Ewa, HI.
September 1947
Assigned to VMR-252, based at MCAS Cherry Point, NC.
Right: 39573 supposedly with VMR-153 based at MCAS Cherry Point, NC circa 1950 - even though we have no confirmation of that assignment.
Photo credit: Wings-Aviation.ch
1956 to August 1956
N10427 - AAXICO (USA)
1956
Purchased. [JB mention a possible lease to Trans Arctic Inc.]
August 1956 to April 1961
N10427 - SEABOARD & WESTERN AIRLINES (USA)
30 August 1956
Leased from AAXICO. Operated in Europe as a feeder to Seaboard's transatlantic services.
6 May 1957
Purchased from AAXICO.
8 May 1959
Damaged by fire in Munich, Germany after left undercarriage failed on landing.
Not repaired immediately.
April 1961 to December 1970
N10427 - SEABOARD WORLD AIRLINES (USA)
4 April 1961
Company changed name to Seaboard World Airlines.
By April 1964
Back in service.
ca April 1970
Certificate of airworthiness expiry, withdrawn from use in Frankfurt, Germany.
Left to right, from top to bottom:
1. N10427 seen at Prestwick, UK probably in 1956 wearing Seaboard's early livery.
Photo credit: Dave Welch / Air Britain
2. A color shot of N10427, unknown place, late 1950's.
Photo credit: Dannies / airliners-airlines.de
3. Parked in Frankfurt, 1959.
Photo credit: Erich Marek / www.planepictures.net
4. The same a few years later, with a new paint job at London Heathrow.
Photo credit: Christian Volpati / Airliners from the Past
5. A poor shot of N10427 at Heathrow again, 1966.
Photo credit: the Samba Collection / Air Team Images
6. N10427 in a slightly altered paint scheme on 8 December 1967 in Frankfurt, Germany.
Photo credit: Ken Fielding / AV.CA
7. Loaders at work on N10427 in Dusseldorf, Germany on 1 January 1968.
Photo credit: Peter Scharkowski / Jetphotos
8. N10427 parked on Frankfurt Main's cargo ramp on 10 August 1969.
Photo credit: Avia-dejavu
9. The same in Frankfurt again, May 1970.
Photo credit: WernerFischdick / ASN
10. N10427 in Basel, France, probably in the early 1970's.
Photo credit: Urs Baettig / Flickr
December 1970 to May 1971
N10427 - NORTH AMERICAN AIRCRAFT TRADING CORPORATION (USA)
19 December 1970
Purchased by Hank Warton, to be operated by the North American Aircraft Trading Corporation.
Ferried to Basel, France.
23 December 1970
Ferried from Basel, France to Malaga, Spain. The flight was supposed to continue on to Conakry, Guinea, but the aircraft remained on the ground in Malaga.
ca March 1971
Ferried from Malaga, Spain to Miami, FL.
1972 to February 1973
N10427 - JOANNE FASHIONS (CANADA)
15 December 1972
Purchased.
21 February 1973
Damaged beyond repair in Barrancabermeja, Colombia on approach with an engine failed (2/2 fatalities).
The Commando was operating a cargo flight betwenn Barranquilla and Pereira, Colombia. Approximately halfway through the flight, the crew informed ATC about the failure of the left engine. They were cleared to divert to nearby Barrancabermeja airport for an emergency landing. On approach, while completing the last turn on the side of the dead engine, the pilot lost control of the airplane which stalled and crashed in a field located 3 km from runway 03 threshold. The Commando was destroyed and both pilots were killed.
The failure of the left engine was determined to have been caused by a hydraulic leak. The loss of control was caused by an aerodynamic stall consecutive to an insufficient speed while making a sharp turn to the side of the dead engine at a relatively low height and with a heavily loaded aircraft.
Last edited: 30/11/2023