Commando 44-77540
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46D-10-CU Commando
USAAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 44-77540
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 32936
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU1472
FATE: Unknown
Operational Record
December 1944 to February 1946
44-77540 - USAAF (USA)
8 December 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.
Assigned to the 8th Air Force.
9 January 1945
Departed the USA for Europe.
Early 1945
Probably assigned to the 9th Air Force, 52nd Troop Carrier Wing.
26 July 1945
Returned to the USA at Bradley Field, CT.
February 1946 to March 1948
44-77540 - RFC (RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION) (USA)
7 February 1946
Transferred to RFC and stored at Bush Field, GA.
March 1948 to January 1959
44-77540 - USAF (USA)
9 March 1948
Returned to USAF service.
5 May 1948
Assigned to Langley AFB, VA.
21 February 1949
Converted to EC-46D (exempt category).
6 April 1949
Reclamation authorized.
24 February 1949
Reclamation completed. [dates discrepancy]
The following ten years of this airframe's life are unknown.
January 1959 to September 1959
N8008E - AAXICO (USA)
21 January 1959
Purchased from the USAF.
28 May 1959
Registered.
August 1961 to November 1961
N2424J - WINDSOR AIRLINES (USA)
29 August 1961
Transferred as Crown was renamed Windsor.
Reregistered.
November 1961 to June 1962
N6376F - FLEET TRADERS INC. (USA)
10 November 1961
Purchased.
15 November 1961
Registered.
September 1962 to October 1962
N6376F - C-46 PARTS INC. (USA)
27 September 1962
Purchased.
10 October 1962
Certificate of registration issued.
21 November 1962
Registration cancelled, exported to Chile.
October 1962 to 1980
CC-CAM - ALFA (AEROLINEAS FLECHA AUSTRAL) (CHILE)
23 October 1962
Purchased.
Below, left: CC-CAM in Miami, FL in January 1968.
Photo credit: Rainer Haufschild / dhc-2.com
Below, right: the same in Miami, FL again on 17 April 1972.
Photo credit: R. A. Scholefield / Airliners.net
Bottom, left: CC-CAM at Rio de Janeiro Galeao International, Brazil on 15 November 1973.
Photo credit: Vito Cedrini / Airliners.net
Bottom, right: CC-CAM at Panama City Tocumen, Panama in August 1974.
Photo credit: Werner Fischdick / ASN
1980 to October 1985
CP-1593 - SABENI (SERVICIO AEREO BENI) (BOLIVIA)
1980
Purchased.
Used as a meat carrier between the Department of Beni and La Paz El Alto, Bolivia.
11 October 1985
Damaged beyond repair in an accident in the Cordillera (2/2 fatalities).
The Commando was operating a commercial flight between Beni and La Paz, Bolivia with a cargo of meat and two pilots on board. The aircraft crashed in the mountains for an undetermined reason. The wreckage was located on 15 October with both pilots dead.
[A large amount of uncertainty remains as to the history of this aircraft, with its civilian history needing confirmation.]
Right: CP-1593 of SABENI at La Paz El Alto, Bolivia, unknow date.
Photo credit: EX/ZX / Flickr
Last edited: 30/01/2024