Commando 42-3664
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-35-CU Commando
USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-3664
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 26797
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU437
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
February 1944 to November 1945
42-3664 - USAAF (USA)
2 February 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.
28 February 1944
Assigned to ATC Central African Wing.
18 June 1945
Assigned to Morrison Field, FL.
November 1945 to unknown date
42-3664 - RFC (RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION) (USA)
16 November 1945
Transferred to RFC, stored at Ontario AAF, CA.
April 1948 to May 1948
RX-133 (I) - LAPSA (LINEAS AEREAS DE PANAMA SA) (PANAMA)
April 1948
Purchased.
May 1948 to July 1948
RX-133 (I) - IAF (ISRAELI AIR FORCE) (ISRAEL)
May 1948
Purchased.
4 July 1948
Damaged beyond repair at Ekron Airfield, Israel in a ground fire (no fatalities).
The Commando was scheduled for a flight from Ekron Airfield, Israel to Zatec Air Base, Czechoslovakia as part of the arms smuggling flights to Israel taking place during Operation Balak. During startup at Ekron, the no.1 engine caught fire. The fire was put out, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage to the left hand side of the fuselage. It appeared that fuel had been spilled on the left wing during the fueling operation using a manual fuel pump.
The Commando possibly never received an IAF military registration.
Last edited: 04/01/2024