Commando 42-96809
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46D-5-CU Commando
USAAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-96809
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 30471
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU1007
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
September 1944 to unknown date
42-96809 - CURTISS-WRIGHT CORPORATION (USA)
11 September 1944
Transferred from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY to the one in Louisville, KY.
Unknown date to October 1945
42-96809 - USAAF (USA)
Unknown date
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Louisville, KY.
Assigned to the 4th Combat Cargo Group, 14th Combat Cargo Squadron based at Bowman Field, KY.
Mid-November 1944
Ferried from Morrison Field, FL to Sylhet, Bengal, India.
Crew:
Capt. George W. Rooney, Pilot
1st Lt. Vincent W. Souter, Copilot
TSgt. Gid A. Burrell, Crew Chief
Cpl. Leonard J. Konietzka, Radio Operator
30 November 1944
Ferried through Karachi, Sindh, India.
Early December 1944
Arrived in Sylhet, Bengal, India with the 14th Combat Cargo Squadron.
Transported reinforcements and supplies for Allied forces in Burma.
December 1944
Transported material and equipment for the Ledo Road.
Early January 1945
Moved to Agartala, Tripura, India with the 14th Combat Cargo Squadron.
Late January 1945
Moved to Chittagong, Bengal, India with the 14th Combat Cargo Squadron.
February 1945
Transported men, mules, and boats to support the Allied crossing of the Irrawaddy River, Burma.
May 1945
Dropped Gurkha paratroops during the assault on Rangoon.
June 1945
Moved to Namponmao, Burma with the 14th Combat Cargo Squadron.
Transported ammunition, gasoline, mules, and men to China.
9 October 1945
Destroyed 6 km from Kinhwa, Chekiang, China (today Jinhua, Zhejiang) after the crew bailed out when the aircraft ran out of fuel. [wrongly spelled "Kinkwa", which does not exist]
Pilot: Frank Draydon Barger
16 October 1945
Condemned for salvage.
Last edited: 05/09/2020