Commando 42-3671

VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-36-CU Commando

USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-3671

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 26804

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU444

FATE: Written off

  March 1944 to March 1945

  42-3671 - USAAF (USA)

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6 March 1944

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

29 March 1944

Departed the USA for India.

Unknown date

Assigned to ATC India China Wing, based at Station 7, Sookerating, Assam, India.

9 November 1944

Received major damage in Sookerating, Assam, India in a landing accident.

Pilot: John W. Fortner (survived, fought on in the Korean War and retired a USAF Major with a Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters)

12 March 1945

Damaged beyond repair 10 miles southwest of Shingbwiyang, Burma in a fatal accident caused by weather.

Crew:
1st Lt William S. Sanders, Pilot (killed)
2nd Lt Lyle F. Green, Copilot (killed)
And two other crewmembers (survived)

The Commando departed Sookerating, Assam, India bound for China. It crashed near Sadiya, Assam, India for unknown reasons. Weather in the area at the time of the accident included thunderstorms, severe icing, turbulence with hail and visibility near zero. The two pilots died in the crash, while the other two crewmembers survived and were able to hike to safety.

27 March 1945

Wreckage found.

Unknown date

Condemned for salvage.