C-46 Commando

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• The first production versions of the Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando are delivered to the Army Air Corps. Intended as a supplement to the Douglas C-47, they will not be as successful. They are unable to fly on one engine, are less structurally robust, and have unvented wings that tend to pool gasoline vapors making them more vulnerable to flak. 31 aircraft will either spontaneously catch fire or explode in flight between May 1943 and March 1945. The aircraft will be referred to as the “Curtiss Calamity”, and requires many more maintenance hours than the C-47. During Operation Varsity, 26% of the C-46s will be shot down compared to 3% of the C-47s (40% of the C-47s will return with battle damage), prompting General Matthew Ridgeway to forbid the use of the C-46 in airborne operations. They will be relegated to cargo hauling and air ambulance use where their greater cargo capacity and higher flight ceiling will come in handy.

 

C-46

(Personal note: My father flew C-47s during the war. He also got to pilot the C-46, P-38, B-25, B-24, and B-17, and was a twin-engine flight instructor in late 1945. He called the C-46 “a terrible aircraft”.) "

[TRRA15]

I didn't know they were such flawed aircraft. Good looking though.

 

A local air museum actually has a flyable example.

[BMA_FlyingShark]

Thanks for the information, very interesting.

I always hoped to see one in game one day (although chances would be slim) and now I don't even want it anymore as I would never want to get in one in real life either.

 

have a nice day.