Curtiss - Wright | ||||||||||||||||||||||
C-46 Commando
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Photo: Robert Deering 1991 Midland International Airport (MAF) Midland, Texas |
||||||||||||||||||||||
The C-46
was developed from the new and
unproven commercial aircraft design,
the CW-20, which first flew in March
1940. Deliveries of AAF C-46s began
in July 1942 for the Air Transport
Command and Troop Carrier Command.
During World War II, the USAAF
accepted 3,144 C-46s for hauling
cargo and personnel and for towing
gliders. Of this total, 1,410 were
C-46Ds.
The C-46 gained its greatest fame during WWII transporting war materials over the "Hump" from India to China after the Japanese had closed the Burma Road. C-46 flights on the treacherous air route over the Himalayas began in May 1943. The Commando carried more cargo than the famous C-47 and offered better performance at higher altitudes, but under these difficult flying conditions, C-46s required extensive maintenance and had a relatively high loss rate. In Europe, C-46s dropped paratroopers during the aerial crossing of the Rhine River near Wesel in March 1945. C-46s saw additional service during the Korean War. |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|