Final USAF C-46s - where are the photos?

[phil65]

There's quite a story behind the Curtiss Museum's C-46. At least in the 1980s it was being used as a South American drug runner. Captured and confiscated by the DEA, it was passed to the Smithsonian, who loaned it to the Geneseo museum (under whatever name the museum had at the time). So I saw it sitting there for several years... eventually the C-46 was trucked the 40 or 50 miles to Hammondsport, where it sits today. That's just a rough outline based on my distant memory; I'm sure the full story is out on the inter webs somewhere, or someone here will have the correct details.
I visited the GCM last year, and it does seem to me that the Commando belongs inside. But at least it hasn't been scrapped.

Yes, when I was at the museum I was reading about her.
Definitely some interesting history..

Phil

[APG85]

Saw this C-46 in one of the scrapyards next to Davis Monthan in October '90, but unfortunately there's no serial visible. i wonder if it made it to preservation?

USAF C-46 Commando by Paul Stroud, on Flickr

I used to see this plane in one of the scrapyards behind DM in the 90's as well (off Kolb Rd.?). Somewhere I have a few pictures of it and a couple of A-26 fuselages sitting on the ground nearby. I was under the impression that this plane ended up at Chino.

[Andy Marden]

That will have been 44-77559, which was in Bobs Air Park on South Wilmot Road.
It is now in a storage compound at Yanks Air Museum Chino.

[Paul Stroud]

That will have been 44-77559, which was in Bobs Air Park on South Wilmot Road.
It is now in a storage compound at Yanks Air Museum Chino.

Thank you for the info, Andy and APG, I've updated my Flickr accordingly

[Larry Kraus]

Not exactly an Air Force C-46, but it was working the 1981Alaska Fish Haul. This picture was taken at King Salmon Airport in July 1981. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the details, but I think that it came from the Japanese Air Force.

Fish Haul 23 by tanker622001, on Flickr

[JohnH]

That will have been 44-77559, which was in Bobs Air Park on South Wilmot Road.
It is now in a storage compound at Yanks Air Museum Chino.

Thank you for the info, Andy and APG, I've updated my Flickr accordingly

That's not correct , you need to update it again. It's at Planes of Fame. This is on Wiki. I'll grab a pic next time I'm out there . Most Saturdays. Here is the one at Yanks , and it's posted on their website. https://yanksair.org/exhibition/curtiss ... -commando/

[Larry Kraus]

For what it’s worth, I found some information on the C-46 that was at King Salmon in 1981.

IMG_3503 by tanker622001, on Flickr

[quemerford]

This thread has gone a tad off-beam: does anyone have photos of those final USAF C-46s at Eglin or Howard AFBs?

[Stoney]

Larry
that C-46 came thru OAK from Japan and i saw it there and went in it to look around, it still had troop seats then. Fred had this and a C-54 to haul Salmon.

[Larry Kraus]

Thanks for that information, Stoney. The C-46 worked out of Egegik Beach with the rest of us. I don’t have a picture of it on the beach, but here’s my (TBM Inc’s) Super DC-3 (R4D-8/ C-117D) BuNo 12437/ N8538R and H & P’s C-119L (N3003). That Fish Haul was quite an operation and a good way to get yourself killed. Daylight wasn’t a factor, but you needed to carry a tide table to make sure the beach would be there long enough to land, load up with fish and take-off before the tide came in.

Fish Haul 2 by tanker622001, on Flickr

Last edited by Larry Kraus on Tue Jul 08, 2025 12:33 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Hooligan2]

Larry/Stoney, we need a like button!

[Clifford Bossie]

This thread has gone a tad off-beam: does anyone have photos of those final USAF C-46s at Eglin or Howard AFBs?

Squadron Signal in Action 188 C-46 Commando has a photo on page 45 of C-46D 44-77766 in COIN gray that the caption states is a Howard AFB based airplane.

[quemerford]

This thread has gone a tad off-beam: does anyone have photos of those final USAF C-46s at Eglin or Howard AFBs?

Squadron Signal in Action 188 C-46 Commando has a photo on page 45 of C-46D 44-77766 in COIN gray that the caption states is a Howard AFB based airplane.

Thanks for that: I'll take a look!

[Andy Marden]

That will have been 44-77559, which was in Bobs Air Park on South Wilmot Road.
It is now in a storage compound at Yanks Air Museum Chino.

Thank you for the info, Andy and APG, I've updated my Flickr accordingly

That's not correct , you need to update it again. It's at Planes of Fame. This is on Wiki. I'll grab a pic next time I'm out there . Most Saturdays. Here is the one at Yanks , and it's posted on their website. https://yanksair.org/exhibition/curtiss ... -commando/

Whoops, sorry, that was my brain fart. Planes of Fame is correct.