| LC control no. | sh 85034905 |
|---|---|
| Topical heading | C-46 (Transport plane) |
| Variant(s) | Curtiss C-46 (Transport plane) Curtiss Commando (Transport plane) Curtiss CW-20 (Transport plane) |
| See also | Transport planes |
| Found in | Museum of the United States Air Force website, April 17, 2023 (The C-46 was developed from the new and unproven commercial aircraft design, the CW-20, which first flew in March 1940. Deliveries of the AAF C-46 began in July 1942 for the Air Transport Command and Troop Carrier Command. During World War II, the USAAF accepted 3,144 C-46s for hauling cargo and personnel and for towing gliders) <https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196258/curtiss-c-46d-commando/> Planes of Fame Air Museum website, April 17, 2023 (The Curtiss-Wright Corporation began development of a 36-seat airliner called the CW-20 in 1936. When the aircraft flew for the first time in March of 1940, it caught the attention of the U.S. Army. A militarized version, the C-46 Commando, was ordered and went into service in 1942. It as the largest and heaviest twin-engine aircraft operated by the Air Corps. The aircraft had a double-lobed fuselage cross section with the cargo floor acting as the junction, providing high strength. The C-46A incorporated a large cargo doo in the left rear fuselage, a strengthened cargo floor, 40 folding seats, and high-altitude engines) <https://planesoffame.org/aircraft/plane-C-46> Aviastar.org website, April 17, 2023: (The Commando was evolved from the Curtiss-Wright CW-20 which was originally laid out as a 36-passenger pressurized commercial transport in 1937 ... 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 ... 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.) <http://www.aviastar.org/air/usa/curtiss_commando.php> |
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