Commando 42-101108

VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-50-CU Commando

USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-101108

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 30563

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU1099

FATE: Broken up

  September 1944 to April 1946

  42-101108 - USAAF (USA)

16 September 1944

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

26 October 1944

Assigned to ATC North African Division.

31 October 1944

Assigned to ATC India-China Division.

Unknown date

Assigned to Karachi, Sindh, India.

   April 1946 to August 1955

  42-101108 - INDIAN GOVERNMENT (INDIA)

10 April 1946

Purchased.

   August 1955

  42-101108 - BANWARI LAL & CO. (INDIA)

August 1955

Purchased.

  August 1955 to January 1956

  N75396 - FRANCIS AUGUSTUS CONNER (USA)

16 August 1955

Purchased by Gus Conner of Miami, FL.

6 October 1955

Damaged in Lisbon, Portugal in an accident, probably during the ferry flight between India and Miami, FL.

20 October 1955

Registered.

  January 1956 to February 1956

  N75396 - MIAMI AIRCRAFT & ENGINE SALES (USA)

26 January 1956

Purchased.

  February 1956 to January 1959

  N75396 - CONNER AIR LINES (USA)

February 1956

Purchased.

  January 1959 to November 1963

  N75396 - RIDDLE AIRLINES (USA)

19 January 1959

Purchased.

Converted to C-46F.

  November 1963 to October 1968

  N75396 - AIRLIFT INTERNATIONAL (USA)

29 November 1963

Transferred as Riddle became Airlift.

28 November 1967

Received major damage at NAS Boca Chica, FL in a ground loop (no fatalities).

The Commando was operating a domestic cargo flight for the US Military. Upon landing at NAS Boca Chica, FL, the pilot lost directionnal control and made a runway excursion. The tailwheel assembly was damaged after hitting the arresting gear mechanism on the side of the runway.

  October 1968

  N75396 - LAUDERDALE LEASING CORPORATION (USA)

11 October 1968

Purchased.

  October 1968 to June 1969

  N75396 - FLYING W AIRWAYS (USA)

14 October 1968

Purchased.

  June 1969 to March 1971

  N75396 - TRANS ARCTIC INC. (USA)

30 June 1969

Purchased.

13 August 1971

Registration cancelled.

  March 1971 to August 1988

  HI-209 - AEROLINEAS ARGO (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC)

March 1971

Purchased.

28 September 1981

Received major damage in St Croix, VI in a taxi accident (0/3 fatalities).

The Commando was operating a cargo flight from St Croix, VI to San Juan, PR. While taxiing out for takeoff, the left brake expander failed. Hydraulic fluid leaked rapidly on the taxiway and braking was lost. The pilot lost control of the aircraft and struck a light pole, a hangar and a parked Grumman Mallard.

January 1987

Possibly leased out to an unknown outfit named "Compania de Carga SA".

Right: HI-209 on the cargo ramp of Santo Domingo Las Americas in September 1980.
Photo credit: Richard Vandervord / www.airhistory.net

  August 1988 to unknown date

  HI-209CA - AEROLINEAS ARGO (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC)

August 1988

Returned to Aerolineas Argo and reregistered.

January 1991

Withdrawn from use and stored at Santo Domingo Las Americas, Dominican Republic.

Post 2003

Broken up at Santo Domingo Las Americas, Dominican Republic.

Left: HI-209CA standing in the grass at Las Americas, abandoned, on 15 November 1992.
Photo credit: Peter M. Garwood / AVCA
Below, left: the same on 8 November 1994, still looking intact.
Photo credit: Augusto Gomez Rojas / Airliners.net
Below, right: ever closer to the graveyard... The last known shot of HI-209CA on 2 March 2003.
Photo credit: Javier F. Bobadilla / Airliners.net