Commando 43-47294

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

  April 1945 to July 1945

  43-47294 - USAAF (USA)

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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 20^th Air Force, XX Bomber Command, 1^st Air Transport Squadron (Mobile), based at RAF Kalaikunda, Bengal, India.

14 July 1945

Went missing over Burma (5/5 missing).

Crew:
1^st Lt Robert G. Chesky, Pilot
1^st 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.