A U.S. C-46 aircraft conducting an aerial evacuation of wounded American troops from Manila, the capital of the Philippines, shortly after U.S. forces retook the city after intense fighting with the Japanese.

2023年9月26日 · The Curtiss C-46 Commando became the primary Allied aircraft flying supplies over the Himalayan Mountains to China. During the mission, the C-46 was the only Allied aircraft capable of handling adverse conditions like violent weather, high mountains, and poorly maintained airfields.

Billed by Curtiss as the “Sub-Stratosphere Transport”, the airplane that became the C-46 military transport was actually intended to be a 36 passenger airliner with a pressurized cabin. It was an attempt to compete with that other famous airliner of the 1930’s - the Douglas DC-3.

The Curtiss C-46 Commando was designed and manufactured by Curtiss-Wright as a twin-engine military transport aircraft developed from the CW-20 pressurized high-altitude aircraft. The aircraft was operated by the United States Army Air Force as a military transport in the Second World War, as well as the United States Navy…

The C-46 gained its greatest fame during WWII 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.

Air America的一架C-46是从战火中的越南西贡飞出的最后一架 固定翼飞机 ，1975年4月29日，机长E. G. Adams驾驶一架定员52名乘客版的C-46，最终搭载152名乘客飞往泰国曼谷。

The Curtiss C-46 played a major, though oft-forgotten role in defeating Imperial Japan during WWII. The aircraft’s unique cargo-carrying capabilities and performance helped keep China in the war at a time when its collapse seemed imminent.

2019年4月8日 · The C-46 Commando was the biggest twin-engine airplane in the world when it first flew—longer, taller and with a wider wingspan than a B-17 or B-24. To fly a C-46 was to wrestle with 20 to 26 tons of aluminum and steel, depending on the model and mods. There were pilots who said that if you could fly a C-46, you could fly anything.

2019年5月17日 · One of the most successful freight aircraft available to operators in the 1930s and 40s, the Curtiss C-46 Commando was produced by the Curtiss-Wright Corp 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.

The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a transport aircraft originally derived from a commercial high-altitude airliner design. It was instead used as a military transport during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces as well as the U.S. Navy / …