Commando 42-61043
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-41-CU Commando
USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-61043
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 26918
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU558
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
April 1944 to September 1945
42-61043 - USAAF (USA)
14 April 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.
30 May 1944
Assigned to ATC North African Wing.
15 June 1944
Assigned to 20th Air Force, XX Bomber Command, 2nd Air Transport Squadron (Mobile), based at RAF Kalaikunda, Bengal, India. [probable, based on dates]
31 October 1944
Moved with 2nd Air Transport Squadron to Dergaon, Assam, India.
November 1944
Moved with 2nd Air Transport Squadron to Luliang, Yunnan, China.
Mid-1945
Assigned to ATC India-China Division. [to be confirmed]
18 September 1945
Damaged beyond repair 30km west of Paoshan, Yunnan, China in an accident following an engine failure.
Pilot: Joseph B. Raspanti (survived, retired a USAF Lt Colonel)
15 September 1945
Condemned for salvage, “washout”. [dates discrepancy]