https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_C-46_Commando
The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a transport aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20
pressurised high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name
'Condor III' but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company
publicity. It was used as a military transport during World War II by the United
States Army Air Forces and also the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps, which used the
designation R5C. The C-46 served a similar role to its counterpart, the Douglas
C-47 Skytrain, but was not as extensively produced. At the time of its
production, the C-46 was the largest twin-engine aircraft in the world, and was
the largest and heaviest twin-engine aircraft to see service in World War II.
After World War II, a few surplus C-46 aircraft were briefly used in their
originally designated role as passenger airliners, but the glut of surplus C-47s
dominated the marketplace and the C-46 were soon relegated to primarily cargo
duty. The type continued in U. S. Air Force service in a secondary role until
1968. However, the C-46 continues in operation as a rugged cargo transport for
Arctic and remote locations with its service life extended into the 21st century
Role Military transport aircraft
National origin United States
Manufacturer Curtiss-Wright Corporation
First flight 26 March 1940
Introduction 1941
Status Active in limited civilian use
Primary users United States Army Air Forces
United States Air Force
United States Marine Corps
United States Navy
Number built 3,181
In the Pacific Theater, most famous for its operations in the China-Burma-India
theater (CBI) and the Far East, the Commando was a workhorse in flying over "The
Hump" (as the Himalaya Mountains were nicknamed by Allied airmen), transporting
desperately needed supplies to troops in China from bases in India
In the European Theater, so many C-46s were lost in the paratroop drop during
Operation Varsity that Army General Matthew Ridgway issued an edict forbidding
the aircraft's use in future airborne operations. Even though the war ended soon
afterwards and no further airborne missions were flown, the C-46 may well have
been unfairly demonized.
Despite its obvious and valuable utility, the C-46 remained a maintenance
nightmare throughout its AAF career. The official history of the Army Air Forces
summarized its shortcomings:
But from first to last, the Commando remained a headache. It could be kept
flying only at the cost of thousands of extra man-hours for maintenance and
modification. Although Curtiss-Wright reported the accumulation by November 1943
of the astounding total of 721 required changes in production models, the plane
continued to be what maintenance crews around the world aptly described as a
"plumber's nightmare." Worse still, the plane was a killer. In the experienced
hands of Eastern Air Lines and along a route that provided more favorable flying
conditions than were confronted by military crews in Africa and on the Hump
route into China, the plane did well enough. Indeed, Eastern Air Lines lost only
one C-46 in more than two years of operation. But among the ATC pilots the
Commando was known, with good reason, as the "flying coffin." From May 1943 to
March 1945, Air Transport Command received reports of thirty-one instances in
which C-46s caught fire or exploded in the air. Still others were listed merely
as "missing in flight," and it is a safe assumption that many of these exploded,
went down in flames, or crashed as the result of Vapor lock, carburetor icing,
or other defects.
Specifications (C-46A)
General characteristics
Crew: 4
Capacity: [32]
40 troops or
30 stretcher patients or
15,000 lb (6,800 kg) cargo[33]
Length: 76 ft 4 in (23.27 m)
Wingspan: 108 ft 0 in (32.91 m)
Height: 21 ft 9 in (6.62 m)
Wing area: 1,360 ft2 (126.3 m2)
Empty weight: 30,669 lb[N 2][32] (14,700 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 45,000 lb[N 3] (20,412 kg)
2,000 hp (1,492 kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 270 mph (235 knots, 435 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4,600 m)
Cruise speed: 173 mph (150 knots, 278 km/h)
Range: 3,150 mi (2,739 nmi, 5,069 km at 173 mph (278 km/h))
Service ceiling: 24,500 ft (7,468 m)
Rate of climb: 1,175 ft/min[32] (6.0 m/s)
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