Commando 43-47087
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-55-CK Commando
USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 43-47087
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 158
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CK135
FATE: Unknown
Operational Record
December 1944 to April 1946
43-47087 - USAAF (USA)
14 December 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Louisville, KY.
29 January 1945
Assigned to ATC India-China Division, 1333rd AAF Base Unit, Chabua, Assam, India.
26 June 1945
Received major damage in Chanyi, Yunnan, China in a landing accident.
Pilot: Frank C. Smith
15 September 1945
Damaged in Kunming, Yunnan, China in a taxi accident.
Pilot: John B. Thoman (survived)
While taxiing in Kunming, the Commando collided with parked sistership 43-47164, damaging both aircraft.
Unknown date
Assigned to Karachi, Sindh, India.
Right: in the foreground, 43-47087 parked at Chabua, Assam, India, unknown date.
Photo credit: Mike Bernardis / www.cbi-history.com
April 1946 to December 1956 December 1956 to February 1957
N7844B - L & J TRADING COMPANY (USA)
December 1956
Purchased.
17 April 1957
Registered.
18 April 1957
Registration cancelled, exported to Venezuela.
February 1957 to September 1957
YV-T-JTA - RANSA (RUTAS AEREAS NACIONALES SA) (VENEZUELA)
20 February 1957
Leased from L & J Trading.
September 1957 to unknown date
YV-C-ARL - RANSA (RUTAS AEREAS NACIONALES SA) (VENEZUELA)
25 September 1957
Reregistered.
ca 1965
Withdrawn from use and stored in Miami, FL.
Left: YV-C-ARL being serviced in Miami, FL in March 1962.
Photo credit: M. Lawrence / Humberto Arias
Last edited: 06/03/2024