Commando 42-96729
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-45-CU Commando
USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-96729
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 30391
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU927
FATE: Preserved
Operational Record
September 1944 to September 1947
42-96729 - USAAF (USA)
September 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.
September 1947 to July 1959
42-96729 - USAF (USA)
18 September 1947
Transferred.
Unknown date
Modified by Curtiss-Wright for USAF.
Unknown date
Assigned to the 436th Troop Carrier Group, 81st Troop Carrier Squadron based at Grenier AFB, NH.
Unknown date
Assigned to the 2235th Air Force Reserve Training Center based at Grenier AFB, NH.
9 October 1957
Assigned to the Arizona Aircraft Storage Squadron and stored at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ.
29 January 1958
Sent for reclamation at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ.
Right: inside the cockpit of 42-96729 with an 81st Troop Carrier Squadron crew in the mid-1950’s.
Photo credit: USAF
July 1959 to October 1959
N9342R - L. B. SMITH AIRCRAFT CORPORATION (USA)
July 1959
Purchased from USAF.
October 1960
PP-NMJ - NAB (NAVEGACAO AEREA BRASILEIRA) (BRAZIL)
October 1960
Registration alloted, but not taken up.
October 1960 to late 1961
N9342R - AIR INTERNATIONAL INC. (USA)
October 1960
Remained with Air International Inc.
27 October 1961
Registration cancelled.
Late 1961 to July 1968
CX-BCN - LINEA AEREA RIO PLATENSE (URUGUAY)
Late 1961
Purchased by Compania Transporte SRL to be operated by Linea Aerea Rio Platense.
17 July 1964
Registered, noted equipped with Pratt & Whitney R-2800-75 engines cn FP091725 & FP090787.
11 September 1964
Received minor damage near Santiago del Estero, Argentina in a forced landing.
The Commando suffered an engine fire and the crew decided to attempt a forced landing in a farm named Estancia la Recompensa. After touchdown, it hit a horse and the undercarriage collapsed. It was discovered that the aircraft was carrying contraband, thence it was impounded by Argentinian authorities and the wreckage was essentially left abandoned in Santiago del Estero.
Left: CX-BCN seen in February 1964 in the USA.
Photo credit: Collection Nery Mendiburu via Martín Blanco / Linea ALA Blogspot
Below: CX-BCN in Colonia, Uruguay in September 1964. Note the Uruguayan flag on the tail.
Photo credit: Collection Nery Mendiburu via Martín Blanco / Linea ALA Blogspot
July 1968 to June 1971
LQ-IYV - FUERZA AEREA ARGENTINA (ARGENTINA)
30 July 1968
Seized by the Argentinian Air Force after a long judicial process. Christened “Huaira Sorckoj”.
Operated in conjuction with the Argentinian Civil Aviation Authority (Direccion Nacional de Aviacion Civil).
Based in Jose C. Paz Air Base, Argentina and later in Mariano Moreno Air Base, Argentina.
5 June 1970
Offered for sale, without success.
Above: LQ-IYV restored back to flying conditions with the Argentinian Air Force, loading cargo at Buenos Aires Ezeiza in 1968.
Photo credit: Alex Reinhard – Collection Vladimiro Cettolo / Linea ALA Blogspot
Right: LQ-IYV in Santiago del Estero in the early 1970’s.
Photo credit: Michael Magnusson – Collection Vladimiro Cettolo / Linea ALA Blogspot
June 1971 to April 1972
LV-IYV - PROVINCE OF SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO (ARGENTINA)
29 June 1971
Donated. [date also quoted as 23 July 1971]
23 December 1971
Registered, but never applied.
April 1972 to present
LV-IYV - EPAC (EMPRESA PROVINCIAL DE AVIACION CIVIL) (ARGENTINA)
12 April 1972
Purchased [or donated?], not airworthy anymore. [date also quoted as 11 April 1972]
Mid 1970’s
Used as a bar in the town of Santiago del Estero.
Late 1970’s
Moved to a public park in the nearby town of Loreto, Argentina for static display. Later squatered and vandalized.
1 September 2008
Moved to another park 1 km north of Loreto, Argentina. Restored back to static display conditions and fixed on a pylon to avoid vandals.
Left: LV-IYV displayed in Loreto, Argentina still in good condition as of December 1986.
Photo credit: Vladimir Cettolo / Linea ALA Blogspot
Below, left: the same 19 years later on 21 June 2005 in desperate need of TLC.
Photo credit: Robert Domandl / Airliners.net
Below, right: LQ-IYV in its new home in January 2018, just north of Loreto on Route 9 leading to Santiago del Estero.
Photo credit: Rollout
Last edited: 14/09/2020