Commando 42-107351
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-40-CU Commando
USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-107351
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 27038
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU678
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
May 1944 to September 1945
42-107351 - USAAF (USA)
30 May 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.
22 June 1944
Assigned to ATC North Atlantic Wing.
13 August 1945
Assigned to ATC North Atlantic Division, 1380th AAF Base Unit, based at Presque Isle AAF, ME.
September 1945 to March 1948
42-107351 - RFC (RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION) (USA)
28 September 1945
Transferred to RFC and stored at Bush Field, GA.
March 1948 to June 1948
N79096 - NATS (NATIONWIDE AIR TRANSPORT SERVICE) (USA)
10 March 1948
Purchased from RFC.
March 1949 to June 1951
AN-FAX - PRIVATE (NICARAGUA)
9 March 1949
Purchased by Anastasio Somoza Debayle.
March 1952 to May 1952
N79096 - RESORT AIRLINES (USA)
19 March 1952
Transferred after Resort Airlines purchased NATS in January 1951. [most likely reregistered at that point N3967C in the Resort Airlines format]
August 1952 to July 1953
N79096 - FRANCIS "GUS" A. CONNER (USA)
9 August 1952
Purchased by Francis Augustus “Gus” Conner, owner of Conner Air Lines, probably to be operated by his company.
January 1954 to September 1959
N3967C - PRIVATE (USA)
9 January 1954
Purchased by A. G. Thompson Jr..
September 1959 to unknown date
N3967C - L. B. SMITH AIRCRAFT CORPORATION (USA)
21 September 1959
Purchased.
Unknown date to November 1959
N3967C - CONTINENTAL & SOUTHERN AIRWAYS (USA)
Unknown date
Leased from L. B. Smith Aircraft Corporation.
November 1959 to January 1960
N3967C - L. B. SMITH AIRCRAFT CORPORATION (USA)
November 1959
Returned from lease contract with Continental & Southern Airways.
January 1960 to December 1965
LV-JMC - ACTA (AEROLINEAS CARRERAS TRANSPORTES AEREOS) (ARGENTINA)
15 January 1960
Purchased by Jose M. Carrera Saavedra, founder of Aerolineas Carreras, to be operated by his airline.
20 February 1960
Registered according to the owner’s initials: “Jose Maria Carrera”.
7 December 1965
Went missing over Panama (7/7 missing).
Crew:
Visir Martinez, Captain
A. Pascual Munoz, Pilot
Francisco Auletta, Copilot
A. Cavallini, Mechanic
The Commando was operating a commercial flight between Miami, FL and Argentina, which involved multiple stops. One of them was Panama City, where it refueled before taking off again for Guayaquil, Ecuador at 04:00 LT. It was carrying a crew of four, three passengers and some cargo. Nothing was ever heard of the aircraft again.
Search airplanes later located the remains of the Commando near the mouth of Rio Bayano, about 40 km east of Panama Tocumen Airport, but no survivors were reported. The plane was completely covered by the tide an hour after these remains were sighted.
Below, left: LV-JMC waiting for a load of cargo for Aerolineas Carreras.
Photo credit: Miguel Hayes / Roll Out
Below, right: A poor shot of LV-JMC taken on a Miami stopover.
Photo credit: Flight Magazine / Roll Out
Last edited: 23/01/2024