Commando 42-101224

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

USAAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-101224

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 30679

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU1215

FATE: Written off

  October 1944 to April 1946

  42-101224 - USAAF (USA)

18 October 1944

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

Assigned to the 4^th Combat Cargo Group, 13^th Combat Cargo Squadron based at Bowman Field, KY.

12 November 1944

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

Crew:
1^st Lt. Victor H. Haag, Pilot
2^nt Lt. Vernon A. Auer, Copilot
Cpl. Melvin Gillburg, Crew Chief
Sgt. Jerald G. Parsons, Radio Operator

29 November 1944

Ferried through Karachi, Sindh, India.

Early December 1944

Arrived in Sylhet, Bengal, India with the 13^th Combat Cargo Squadron.

Transported reinforcements and supplies for Allied forces in Burma.

December 1944

Transported material and equipment for the Ledo Road.

Early January 1945

Moved to Agartala, Tripura, India with the 13^th Combat Cargo Squadron.

23 January 1945

Received major damage in Indaing, Burma in a landing accident. [incorrectly spelled Indainggale, India]

Pilot: Victor H. Haag

Late January 1945

Moved to Chittagong, Bengal, India with the 13^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 13^th Combat Cargo Squadron.

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

22 August 1945

Damaged in Namponmao, Burma in a taxi accident.

Pilot: William H. Kirby

November 1945

Moved to RAF Ondal, Bengal, India with the 13^th Combat Cargo Squadron.

  April 1946 to 1958

  42-101224 - INDIAN GOVERNMENT (INDIA)

10 April 1946

Purchased.

  1958 to August 1964

  N74847 (I) - GENEVA M. CONNER (USA)

1958

Purchased by Geneva M. Conner of Miami Springs, FL.

2 June 1962

Registered.

Performed USAF contract flights in LogAir colors.

16 September 1964

Registration cancelled, export to Guatemala.

[not to be mistaken with N74847 (II), which is Commando 43-47059]

  August 1964 to September 1975

  TG-ALA-C - AVIATECA (GUATEMALA)

21 August 1964

Purchased.

27 August 1964

Delivered.

7 September 1964

Registered.

  September 1975 to 1979

  CP-1267 - TRANSPORTES AEREOS BOLIVAR (BOLIVIA)

September 1975

Purchased.

12 June 1976

Damaged in San Francisco, Bolivia after an undercarriage collapse.

Repaired circa 1978.

Right: CP-1267 at La Paz El Alto, 4 June 1976.
Photo credit: Tony Pearce / Air Britain

Below: this shot of a magazine shows CP-1267 in the foreground and gives an idea of the operating conditions in those days at El Alto...
Photo credit: Unknown

Bottom: just for the hell of it... a very nice modeller rendering of CP-1267.
Photo credit: Rob Lyttle / Brit Modeller

  1979 to October 1980

  CP-1267 - ETA (ESCORPION TRANS AEREOS) (BOLIVIA)

1979

Purchased.

October 1980

Damaged beyond repair 10 km northwest of La Paz, Bolivia in a forced landing.

Right: CP-1267 crashed near La Paz, still there on 10 January 1981.
Photo credit: Rolf Larsson / ASN