The Curtiss Commando Page
The Curtiss Commando Page

Commando 42-107362

Aircraft Identification

VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-40-CU Commando

USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-107362

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 27049

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU689

FATE: Broken up

Operational Record

  June 1944 to 1955

  42-107362 - USAAF (USA)


2 June 1944

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

30 June 1944

Assigned to ATC North African Wing.

Unknown date

Assigned to Cairo Payne Field, Egypt.

23 July 1946

Condemned for salvage, probably by the Army-Navy Liquidation Commission.

[sometimes erroneously reported as Bu.No.39574, which is actually 42-96790]

  1955

  ?????? - SANDAY & CO. (USA)


1955

Purchased.

  1955 to November 1957

  N9887F - BOREAS CORPORATION (USA)


1955

Purchased.

December 1955

Registration alloted.

16 October 1956

Registered.

Probably 1956-1957

Ferried from Cairo Payne Field, Egypt to Venice, Italy for overhaul and conversion to C-46R at Officine Aeronavali.

  November 1957 to August 1968

  LN-FOP - FRED OLSEN AIR TRANSPORT (NORWAY)


18 November 1957

Purchased.

25 March 1958

Registered.

 

Right: LN-FOP loading cargo at Paris Le Bourget, France in June 1961.
Photo credit: John Withers / Air Britain

  August 1968 to unknown date

  LN-FOP - JOINT CHURCH AID (USA)


August 1968

Leased from Fred Olsen Air Transport to be used in the Biafran Airlift.

Based in Sao Tome, Portugal.

  Unknown date to June 1971

  LN-FOP - FRED OLSEN AIR TRANSPORT (NORWAY)


Unknown date

Returned from lease contract with Joint Church Aid, where it was replaced by Fred Olsen's Douglas DC6.

 

Left: a beautiful shot of LN-FOP taken at Stockholm Bromma, Sweden on 10 June 1970.
Photo credit: Kjell Nilsson / Airliners.net

  June 1971 to July 1974

  XW-PHL - CASI (CONTINENTAL AIR SERVICES INC.) (USA)


June 1971

Purchased.

29 June 1971

Delivered in Vientiane, Laos. Equipped with 60 “payloader” seats that folded against the side walls when carrying cargo. Mostly used on rice-dropping missions in Laos.

24 August 1971

Based temporarily in Udorn, Thailand due to the Mekong floods, and continued performing missions into Laos.

15 September 1971

Based again in Vientiane, Laos.

2 July 1974

Registration cancelled.

  July 1974 to February 1976

  N335CA - CASI (CONTINENTAL AIR SERVICES INC.) (USA)


9 July 1974

Reregistered.

12-15 April 1975

Performed evacuation flights between Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Saigon, South Vietnam before the former fell to Khmer Rouge forces.

Pilot: Allen Rich

12-14 May 1975

Performed evacuation flights from Long Tieng, Laos before it fell to North Vietnamese forces.

Late 1975

Ferried to Seletar AB, Singapore, withdrawn from use and stored.

  February 1976 to January 1977

  N335CA - AMCO AIR INTERNATIONAL (SINGAPORE)


16 February 1976

Purchased. [date quoted as 17 February 1976 by AB]

  January 1977 to July 1977

  N335CA - TRI-9 AIRLINES (SINGAPORE)


25 January 1976

Purchased.

  July 1977 to September 1977

  N335CA - AMCO AIR INTERNATIONAL (SINGAPORE)


7 July 1977

Purchased.

  September 1977 to November 1978

  N335CA - KRIS AIR (SINGAPORE)


13 September 1977

Purchased by Daniel T. Cooley to be operated by Kris Air.

Christened “Akiko”.

 

Right: N335CA in Kris Air attire at Seletar AB, Singapore.
Photo credit: Geoff Goodall

  November 1978 to January 1981

  N335CA - PRIVATE (SINGAPORE)


6 November 1978

Purchased by Max E. Moore.

1980

Withdrawn from use and stored at Seletar AB, Singapore.

January 1981

Broken up at Sanday & Co., Seletar AB, Singapore.

 

Left: N335CA at Seletar AB, Singapore on 19 May 1980. Kris Air colors and titles are still worn.
Photo credit: Christian Volpati / Wikimedia Commons

Last edited: 03/08/2020