Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Military transport

Power Plant:

Two 1,492 kw (2,000 hp) Pratt & Whitney R-2800-51 Double Wasp eighteen-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial engines with two-speed superchargers

Specifications:

History:

One of the most successful freight aircraft available to operators in the 1930s and 1940s, the Curtiss C-46 Commando was produced by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation in 1936 when it embarked upon the design of a transport known as the CW-20 which had 20 berths as a night sleeper transport, and from 24 to 35 seats for daytime operations. It evolved into the largest twin-engined transport of its day and had pressurisation.

The prototype was powered by two 1,268 kw (1,700 hp) Wright R-2600 Cyclone engines. In the event all production aircraft were fitted with the Prtt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp. The prototype NX19436 (c/n 101) first flew on 26 March 1940 and had twin tails, this later being changed to a single-tail. Shortly after the prototype was delivered to Wright Field, it was returned to Curtiss and sold in Britain, being flown to the United Kingdom for operations by BOAC as G-AGDI (‘St Louis’) on services to Gibraltar and Malta in 1942.

Orders were forthcoming from the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC), initially 46 in July 1940, and 154 in September. In 1941 further orders were received and by the time production had concluded, some 3,180 examples had been built, all but four of which were delivered to the USAAF. Production took place at the Company’s Buffalo facility in New York, the engine being changed at one stage to the Pratt & Whitney R-2800-43, these aircraft becoming known as the C-46A. This was the most produced of all C-46 variants, with some 1,492 being delivered. Production also took place at St Louis in Missouri and Louisville in Kentucky and two examples were built by Higgins Industries of the 500 ordered, this order being cancelled near the end of the war. Last variant produced was the XC-46L with 1,865 kw (2,500 hp) Wright R-3350-BD engines.

The Commando was instrumental in the success of the campaign in Asia, becoming famous for maintaining the supply line between India and China over “the Hump”, the mountain ranges running from north to south at the eastern end of the Himalayas, where the peaks stand as high as 6,700 m (22,000 ft). In one month alone, July 1945, 64,449 tonnes of supplies were delivered by the C-46s. The USAAF also operated the type in the Pacific Theatre and these operated from Australia, and probably visited New Zealand and the islands on freight runs supplying American forces over the war years.

Records have indicated the 5th US Air Force based initially in Australia was assigned a total of 485 Curtiss C-46s for operation in the south Pacific, these aircraft being delivered to Brisbane (probably Eagle Farm), QLD where most were put into operational use and headed north to participate in front-line services, examples being known to be based in Biak in Papua and Manila in The Philippines. Examples also visited many Australian centres during operations carrying troops and freight. One photograph in the collection of the Australian War Memorial (AWM) showed 15 Curtiss C-46s parked at Garbutt airfield, Townsville, QLD on 31 October 1944.

All examples which had construction numbers in the range 32710 to 32814 (except for possibly two) were allotted to the 5th Air Force at Brisbane. One example was 44-7749 (c/n 32845) which was a C-46D-10CU recorded as “received at Brisbane on 11 January 1945”. One crashed near Alligator Creek, QLD in January 1944; and 42-96784 crashed near Darwin, NT on 25 February 1942.

Because of its carrying capacity, the Commando saw widespread service with freight operators all around the world after the conclusion of World War II. Many were scattered around the world at USAAF bases and many were sold to the air forces of China, Korea, and Japan. Some went to air arms and private operators in South America. Others went to Israel and Egypt. A number were converted for airline use. One of the major users was The Flying Tiger Line, which at one stage fitted a 350 lbst Turbomeca Palas jet engine under the fuselage of one of its aircraft to increase take-off performance but it was not used in widespread service.

The type was also used extensively in the period 1947 to 1949 bringing immigrants to Australia, operators involved including Skyways International with Curtiss C-46 NC1648M, C-46E N54372 and C-46Fs NC53472, NC1646M, NC1647M, NC1648M, NC1649M, NC1650M and NC1651M; Immigration Air Transport with C-46F N1673M; All Trans Airlines with C-46F N1800M; and Nicaraguan International Airlines with C-46D AN-ADD.

In 1951, during the months of April to July, pending the delivery of two Bristol 170 Freighters to the newly established SAFE Airways in New Zealand, the company leased four C-46 Commandos from Civil Air Transport of Formosa, Taiwan. These aircraft operated on the New Zealand rail-air contract due to waterfront problems, were based at Paraparaumu and were able to carry twice the load of the Douglas DC-3 / C-47s over the route across the Cook Strait.

In addition a number of Curtiss Commandos have visited this area over the years. One visited Perth in 1980, this being a C-46D (RP-C1462) of Kris Air delivering a set of rotor blades for a Mayne-Bristow Puma. This aircraft had previously been an Air America aircraft in Vietnam. One (44-78521) visited Whenuapai and Mangere in 1947. On 25 October 1948 Immigration Air Transport Corporation announced in Sydney, NSW it planned to fly more than 15 migrant flights from Europe to Australia each year using Curtiss Commando aircraft. On 16 January 1949 a Skyways International Commando landed at Sydney airport with 48 European migrants.

Two examples have been restored in the United States by the Confederate (now Commemorative) Air Force, these being C-46Fs (44-78663 ‘China Doll’ and 44-78774 ‘Tinker Bell’), and two (including 5Y-TXW), based at Wilson Airport in Nairobi in Kenya, were used on relief flights. A few have survived in museums. A number are known to be lying derelict at airports in The Philippines.

One Curtiss C-46 (44-77635 – X606) held by the Pima Air Museum in Arizona has been painted in the markings of the 2nd Air Combat Cargo Group, 5th Combat Cargo Squadron based at Townsville, QLD in 1945, this aircraft being on loan from the USAF Museum at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base at Dayton, Ohio.

In 2008 a collector of warbirds in Queensland announced he had obtained a Commando and it was to be flown to Australia in 2009. However, following his unfortunate death, the aircraft was not imported.