Commando 42-96816

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

  September 1944 to unknown date

  42-96816 - CURTISS-WRIGHT CORPORATION (USA)

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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)

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Unknown date

Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Louisville, KY.

Assigned to the 4^th Combat Cargo Group, 14^th 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
2^nd 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 14^th 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 14^th Combat Cargo Squadron.

Late January 1945

Moved to Chittagong, Bengal, India with the 14^th 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 14^th 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”?]