Commando 44-77551

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

USAAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 44-77551

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 32947

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU1483

FATE: Unknown

  December 1944 to November 1946

  44-77551 - USAAF (USA)

8 December 1944

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

21 January 1945

Assigned to the 8^th Air Force.

February 1945

Assigned to the 9^th Air Force, 52^nd Troop Carrier Wing, 313^th Troop Carrier Group, 29^th Troop Carrier Squadron based at RAF Folkingham, England.

Marked "5X-T" (TBC)

24 March 1945

Took part in Operation Varsity.

August to October 1945

Displayed along with other USAAF airplanes under the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.

Squadron marking "5X" on the nose painted over and Air Transport Command insignia applied. This may not have meant that the aircraft was actually transferred to ATC, as many of the displayed airplanes received dedicated insignias and nose arts for the exhibition.

Dismantled after the exhibition and shipped to an unknown location.

15 November 1946

Condemned, "CU".

Below: several shots of 44-77551 right under the Eiffel Tower.