Curtiss C-46 Commado
   The C-46 was developed from a new and unproven commercial aircraft design, the CW-20, which first flew in March 1940. Deliveries of the Army Air Force as theC-46 began in July 1942 for the Air Transport Command and Troop Carrier Command. During WW II, the AAF 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 WW II 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.  The C-46D on display at the Air Force Museum is painted as a C-46 flying the Hump in 1944. This aircraft was retired from USAF service in Panama in 1968 and was flown to the Museum in 1972.

  

Curtiss C-46 Commando
This deluxe model is painted to represent the plane as it was used by the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II.  The plane was later used by the USAF.  Scale is 1/72nd.  18" wingspan by 14" in length.    No. AEC2D-CD.   Only $129.95

See USAF C-46

 
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