Commando 44-77589

VARIANT: Curtiss C-46D-10-CU Commando

USAAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 44-77589

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 32985

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU1521

FATE: Unknown

  December 1944 to September 1947

  44-77589 - USAAF (USA)

December 1944

Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.

Early 1945

Assigned to the 9^th Air Force, 52^nd Troop Carrier Wing, 313^th Troop Carrier Group, 48^th Troop Carrier Squadron based at Grevillers-Achiet, France.

Marked "Z7".

24 March 1945

Assigned to Operation Varsity as Chalk 41, but suffered engine problems after takeoff and had to return.

Crew:
1^st Lt. Norman B. Glaser, Pilot
1^st Lt. John O. Houck, Copilot
S/Sgt. Irving J. Kaplan, Radio Operator
T/Sgt. Lawrence A. Longtin, Crew Chief

After takeoff, the Commando's right engine started cutting out due to fouled plugs and a bad ignition harness. The pilot elected to return to Achiet and the load was transferred to spare aircraft 44-77583.

  September 1947 to May 1962

  44-77589 - USAF (USA)

18 September 1947

Transferred.

Unknown date

Assigned to 2234^th Air Force Reserve Training Center, based at Hanscom, MA.

10 June 1950

Received major damage at Hanscom, MA in a takeoff accident.

Pilot: Charles L. Rockwood (survived, went on to fly in Korea & Vietnam and retired a USAF Lt. Col.)

Unknown date

Assigned to 2578^th Air Force Reserve Training Center, based at Ellington AFB, TX.

11 January 1958

Assigned to the Arizona Aircraft Storage Squadron and stored at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ.

2 February 1959

Sent to reclamation.

Later withdrawn from surplus list.

  May 1962 to November 1965

  N9458Z - SAT (SOUTHERN AIR TRANSPORT) (USA)

15 May 1962

Registered.

  November 1965 to July 1975

  N9458Z - AIR AMERICA (USA)

10 November 1965

Purchased.

24 November 1975

Registered.

Assigned to Saigon, South Vietnam.

1 January 1966

Transferred to the Vientiane, Laos base.

14 April 1966

Flew from Vientiane, Laos to Bangkok, Thailand.

15 April 1966

Flew from Bangkok, Thailand to Vientiane, Laos.

3 May 1966

Flew from Vientiane, Laos to Bangkok, Thailand.

18 May 1966

Flew from Bangkok, Thailand to Vientiane, Laos.

April 1966

Assigned to USAID contract AID-439-342 out of Vientiane, Laos.

19 April 1971

Damaged at Luang Prabang, Laos in a ground accident.

The Commando was damaged by flying fragments of rotor blade parts while parked at Luang Prabang, Laos.

Repaired.

15 July 1971

Released from contract AID-439-342.

31 July 1971

Put in inactive storage at Tainan, Taiwan.

Circa April 1973

Returned to service and assigned as spare aircraft in Saigon, South Vietnam.

29 April 1975

Escaped from Saigon, South Vietnam probably to Hong Kong. Permanent return to the Continental USA had been scheduled for 15 June 1975, but the fall of Saigon decided otherwise.

15 June 1975

Arrived in Tainan, Taiwan and stored there.

20 August 1975

Registration cancelled, exported to the Philippines. [date also noted as 4 August 1975]

Right: N9458Z on a Bangkok, Thailand stopover in 1971.
Photo credit: Kevin Haigh / Flickr

  July 1975 to early 1980's

  RP-C1462 - OASIS (ORIENT AIR SYSTEMS & INTEGRATED SERVICES) (PHILIPPINES)

25 July 1975

Registered.

28 July 1975

Purchased (sale was initially planned 18 June 1975).

Below, left: RP-C1462 waiting for its new registration to be painted, Manila, Philippines, September 1975.
Photo credit: Geoff Goodall / AV.CA

Below, right: RP-C1462 now operational, seen in Manila, Philippines on 18 June 1976.
Photo credit: Brian G. Nichols / Airliners.net

Bottom, left: RP-C1462 taxiing out at Manila, Philippines in October 1977.
Photo credit: Brian G. Nichols / Air Britain

Bottom, right: RP-C1462 parked in Manila, Philippines on 23 February 1979.
Photo credit: Christian Volpati / Wikimedia Commons

  Early 1980's

  RP-C1462 - KRIS AIR (SINGAPORE)

Unknown date

Wet-leased from OASIS to replace two retired Commandos.

Used to transport oil drilling equipment and refugee humanitarian relief supplies from Singapore to various destinations in Southeast Asia and India.

Left & below: RP-C1462 at Seletar, Singapore working for Kris Air in July 1980, still sporting its former registration on the instrument panel.
Photo credit: Geoff Goodall

  Early 1980's to ca 1981

  RP-C1462 - OASIS (ORIENT AIR SYSTEMS & INTEGRATED SERVICES) (PHILIPPINES)

Unknown date

Returned from lease to Kris Air.

February 1981

Withdrawn from use and stored in Manila, Philippines as OASIS closed down.

  ca 1981 to unknown date

  RP-C1462 - UNKNOWN OPERATOR (PHILIPPINES)

Circa 1981

Purchased by another Filipino operator and repainted.

Early 1990's

Withdrawn from use and stored in Manila, Philippines.

Fate unknown.

Below, left: RP-C1462 in Manila, Philippines in January 1982, now working for another Filipino operator.
Photo credit: propfreak / Flickr

Below, right: RP-C1462 on 21 November 1984, now looking derelict in Manila, Philippines, with the left wing dismantled on the ground. It apparrently flew again.
Photo credit: Danny Grew / AirHistory.net