Commando 42-96816
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46D-5-CU Commando
USAAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-96816
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 30478
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU1014
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
September 1944 to unknown date
42-96816 - 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 August 1945
42-96816 - 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. Thomas G. Flynn Jr., Pilot
2nd Lt. Loren E. Smaats, Copilot
SSgt. Eugene B. Smith, Crew Chief
SSgt. Buddy Aaron, Radio Operator
9 December 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.
30 July 1945
Damaged beyond repair 20 km south of Myitkyina, Burma in an accident due to an engine failure.
Pilot: Joseph A. Smith
3 August 1945
Condemned for salvage. [AB mentions a “tornado”?]
Last edited: 05/09/2020