Commando 42-3671
Aircraft Identification
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
Operational Record
March 1944 to March 1945
42-3671 - USAAF (USA)
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.