Commando 43-47294
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-60-CK Commando
USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 43-47294
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 365
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CK342
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
April 1945 to July 1945
43-47294 - USAAF (USA)
13 April 1945
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Saint Louis, MO.
3 May 1945
Departed the USA for Karachi, Sindh, India.
Unknown date
Assigned to 20th Air Force, XX Bomber Command, 1st Air Transport Squadron (Mobile), based at RAF Kalaikunda, Bengal, India.
14 July 1945
Went missing over Burma (5/5 missing).
Crew:
1st Lt Robert G. Chesky, Pilot
1st Lt Robert M. Hagerman, Copilot
Sgt James C. Harris, Engineer
FO Keith G. Case, Navigator
Cpl Hal E. Roberts (20 years old at the time, pictured)
The Commando was operating a flight from Bhamo, Burma to Kharagpur, Bengal, India. The crew was contacted once by radio and was not seen nor heard from again.
31 December 1945
Excluded from the inventory.
[erroneously reported as being assigned to Okinawa, Japan with the rest of the squadron - however this Commando had already crashed]
January 2006
Wreckage found near Thamainggyi, Burma, at an elevation of 3,000 feet, just 20 km north of its departure point.
Last edited: 25/10/2022