Commando 42-101234
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46D-5-CU Commando
USAAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-101234
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 30689
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU1225
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
October 1944 to March 1945
42-101234 - USAAF (USA)
21 October 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.
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:
Capt. Charles E. Bickley, Pilot
2nd Lt. Leonard D. Lange, Copilot
TSgt. Loren D. Hall, Crew Chief
Sgt. Raymond G. Giffune, 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.
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.
21 March 1945
Destroyed 65 km east of Chittagong, Bengal, India in a midair explosion. [MACR 14264]
Crew:
1st Lt. Robert E. Claudius
2nd Lt. Lynwood "Lynie" Logan
[Several sources quote a midair collision with an L-5. The most sensible scenario is actually that the L-5 suffered an engine failure in the same area later in the day while searching for the Commando]
24 March 1945
Condemned for salvage.
Last edited: 14/09/2020