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| The Commando was evolved from the Curtiss-Wright CW-20 which was originally laid out as a 36-passenger pressurised commercial transport in 1937. The prototype CW-20 first flew on 26 March 1940 and, because the US Army was impressed with its possibilities, authorisation was obtained for the purchase of a large number as cargo transports. In the meantime the prototype was bought, modified and given the Army designation C-55. It was later re-converted for civil use and sold to the British government.
The Army production model of the CW-20, designated C-46, was a redesign not only to suit it to the duties of a military cargo or task-force aircraft but to allow easy large-scale production. It was produced in three large manufacturing plants and was put into widespread use by the US Army Air Transport Command, Air Service Command and Troop Carrier Command, and by the US Naval Air Transport Command and Marine Corps. The main compartment of the C-46 could accommodate (in addition to general cargo) 40 fully equipped troops, up to 33 stretchers, five Wright R-3350 engines or their equivalent weight of other goods.
Profiting from the experience of the C-46, the Curtiss company in 1944 prepared designs and a mock-up of a commercial version of the aircraft for immediate post-war production. Interestingly, by the end of that year at least two American airlines had ordered the type as the CW-20E. Several hundred of the 3,000 or so Commandos built survived the war and served in a commercial capacity for many years.
| CREW | 3-5 |
| PASSENGERS | 62 |
| ENGINE | 2 x P+W R-2800-51 M-1, 1495kW |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 21770 kg | 47995 lb |
| Empty weight | 13562 kg | 29899 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 32.9 m | 108 ft 11 in |
| Length | 23.3 m | 76 ft 5 in |
| Height | 6.6 m | 22 ft 8 in |
| Wing area | 126.3 m2 | 1359.48 sq ft |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Cruise speed | 370 km/h | 230 mph |
| Ceiling | 6700 m | 22000 ft |
| Range w/max.fuel | 2770 km | 1721 miles |
| Dick Walker, Loogootee, IN, e-mail, 03.09.2010 02:41 Being a retired menber of the 434th TCW, Columbus, IN, I was recalled in the Korean conflict
Being a member of the 434th TCW, Columbus, IN, we were called to active duty in 1951, then later sever of us were sent to Japan as pilots flying the C-46 out of Brady AFB,..437th TCW. While there only one year, I accumulated over 1,000 hrs. in the C-46, with over half of the time logged in actual weather. Other than the fact that I left my pregnant wife back home with two in diappers, and expecting our third while I was gone, I enjoyed my stay in the far east by flying and playing bridge. The mighty C-46 was a mighty work horse. I loved it. reply | | Tim Stout, e-mail, 18.02.2010 22:20 Original C-46 Commando Pilot Training Manual, Restricted March 1945. Very hard to find. Anyone seeking See current Ebay # 260555615231 reply | | Charles Pretzman, e-mail, 17.02.2010 06:20 I have a model, approx. 12 inches long and made of heavy metal on a stand labeled Curtis CW20E Commando. I cannot find out much about this aircraft. I know the model came from an old friend of our family named George Page, who was an engineer and one of the orginal QuietBirds, QB2. Can anyone tell me about this? Thank you. reply | | Al, e-mail, 07.02.2010 02:40 Hi Perry Rainey,
Hope you get this and greetings from Memphis TN.
I saw your name under some C-46 stuff I was looking at on the 'net when I spied the RANSA logo.. My father (Albert S. Robinson) flew there and I wonder if you knew him or perhaps Guido Damiani. I also have another friend who worked there, Marcos Fernandez.. He was a loader but finished out his ratings and flew for a long time after those days but is now retired.
After RANSA ran off the American pilots my Dad flew for RIPSA then other contracts.. He lost his life in the C-46 in Medillien in '65.. We never found out what happened but it made for a pretty rough growing up time.
FWIW my brother (Lee, I'm Al) and I fly for Fedex in Memphis. He's a Capt. on the MD-11 and I am a Capt. on the Boeing.. You might remember Dad's little yellow and black Piper PA-20 Pacer on the grass parcel by the RANSA hangars. We still have it..
Thanks again for the post
Al Robinson reply |
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| | John Thompson, e-mail, 26.01.2010 05:06 I was crew chief and flight engineer, Okinawa, then Japan and Korea, 1949 thru 1951. Great airplane, very reliable, heavy lifter for its time. I left the wreckage of 44-78270 at a dirt strip at Chung Ju Korea (K41) on 8 Jan. 1951. They gave me another one to replace it. A great adventure.
I worked on some of the Non-Scheduled Airlines later as a civilian mechanic. reply | | Marty Hall, e-mail, 21.01.2010 05:55 We have 4 flying here in Alaska. Two as tankers hauling fual mainly to mining operations, and two hauling scheduled freight. Good old coal burners. We'll have them flying untill there's no more 100LL fuel, along with our 10 DC-6 /C-118's. reply | | Jim Hawley, e-mail, 10.01.2010 03:12 My father, same name, flew C-46s in the China-Burma-India campaign in the Himalayas in the 40s. He returned to the states in 1945, and took a flying job in Ecuador, to fly them again in the Andes. Their best quality were the turbocharged engines for high altitude work. He later flew them from Miami between 1948 and 1960 working for a number of airlines mentioned already. I have great photos of the Ecuador experience, if any one wants to see some. I still remember the smell of the gunk at MIA...never forget it. reply | | Tom Kennedy, e-mail, 01.01.2010 19:18 Flew C-46's for Coastal Aviation hauling Wall Street Journals back in '68-69. Mean animal in a crosswind, wing tanks had a habit of leaking fuel, heater under cockpit known for erupting in flames, and very heavy on the controls. Induction fires were very common on start up and glass in the cockpit leaked like heck in a rainstorm. Was easier to "sail" on ice covered ramps and taxiways than trying to taxi. I found it easier to fly than a Twin Beech. reply | | Lee P Svoboda, e-mail, 28.12.2009 15:05 They are still using a couple of them in Alaska. Mainly as fuel haulers. reply | | Henry Best, e-mail, 08.11.2009 00:11 Yeah. My first "BIG AIRPlANE". 600 hours as a very green co-pilot with RIDDLE AIRLINES out of MIami in 1960. Flew a LOGAIR contract with very seasoned "HUMP" pilots. Flew well in the sky but could bite you leaving or alighting the ground! reply | | Bob Thrasher, e-mail, 23.09.2009 15:46 Flew them as copilot, worked on them as a mechanic for years including stint in Germany with Capitol Airways hauling Lufthansa cargo around Europe and into Berlin during the 1960's through the air routs the Russians set up. Great tough airplane, nasty in a crosswind, and could handle heavy ice. reply | | Steve, e-mail, 11.09.2009 19:43 The mythical 4-engine version would seem to be based on a misidentification of the rare Boeing 307 Stratoliner, which had a very similar silhouette. reply | | Robert H Douglas, e-mail, 07.09.2009 20:14 As a member of the 505 Prch Inf I made a familarization jump from this a /craft (March 1945 at Laon France..Great airplane except for te hydraulic tanks in her belly.I am now 85 years old. reply | | Groucho Marx, 03.08.2009 07:37 That's the most ridiculous thing I ever hoyd! reply | |
| | Russ, e-mail, 03.08.2009 06:02 An acquaintence insists, there was a 4 engine version. If so what was it's model designation? reply | | George, e-mail, 13.05.2009 07:20 Wow! After 65 years I finally learn about what my mother was making back during WW2, she worked at the CW plant in St. Louis, she was one of the original "Rosie the Riveters", that were a big part of the war effort. Often wondered about the planes, I always assumed it was the p-40 that they were building, never asked my mother. Sorry that I couldn't contribute more to this effort. reply | | Hernan Villamil, e-mail, 29.04.2009 02:52 I believe one of them was bought by the then-new Austral airline. Such was its fate it crashed at sea at night after an attempted landing in Mar Del Plata in horrible weather in Jan 1959. Only one survivor managed to swim back to shore. From what I read it was a difficult plane to fly in bad weather... reply | | Bob Kuberski, e-mail, 15.01.2009 06:10 I'm building a 1 /72 scale model of the C-46 and need to know what the large "hole" in the nose was for. I assume it was an air intake for ventilation of some sort , but you know what they say about assuming...Please advise & Thanksc in advance. Bob Kuberski reply | | P.C. McILwain, e-mail, 26.12.2008 08:42 As a member of the 446 Troop Carrier Wing in the late 50's, I flew from Houston to Long Beach, Ca and back, from Houston to Memphis, from Memphis to Florida and back to Houston via Memphis. From Houston to Miami and back and several insignificant flights. The plane was air worthy but un-pressurized. Great glide angle. reply | | Perry H. Rainey, Jr., e-mail, 31.08.2008 00:55 I worked on C-46 aircraft as an aircraft sheetmetal technician in 1957 /1958 for RANSA Airlines in Miami, FL. RANSA purchased WWII US surplus C-46 aircraft sold to India from the government of India. The C-46 would have large fuel tanks mounted in the cargo compartment and then be flown to the stateside location for RANSA at Miami International Airport. Upon arrival the C-46's would undergo what was then called a 13,000 hour overhaul. Once completed they were sold to US cargo carriers. Supposedly, US companys were prohibited from buying the WWII surplus aircraft from India so RANSA, a Venezuelan Company, provided a conduit for moving the aircraft into the US airlines transport industry. Great airplane and great experience for me as a teenager! reply |
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I came across this message, and I had to email you! My grandfather was Frederick Robinson, “Juney’s” older brother. My mom must be your cousin...she is Rosemary Robinson and would have been 20yrs old when the accident happened.
Heather
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