Service History of 43-47218
- Delivered: February 28, 1945
- Feb 1945 – To Karachi, India ( 10th Air Force) via Nashville, TN and West Palm Beach, FL
- April 10, 1946 – Transferred to IAF
- 1955 – Withdrawn from service with IAF
- Served with the following airline:
Miami A&E 1956. Riddle 1959, Zantrop 1966, Rich 1973, ASA Int., Aerovias SUD, Americina Inc., Ariel Trans, Southwest Aviation, Florida Caribbean, Wylie Air Corp. - Stored in New Mexico during 1989
- Obtained by Yanks in 2001
With the situation in Europe deteriorating, US involvement in the war became inevitable. In 1940, large orders were placed for military aircraft.
In 1940 the debut flight of the CW-20, a thirty-six passenger airliner with a pressurized cabin showed great promise. The military version, the C-46, was developed with double cargo doors, a strengthened floor, loading winch and folding seats. It was the largest and heaviest twin engined cargo transport of its day, with a crew of four, plus fifty passengers and a military overload weight of 50,675 pounds.
In 1943 the Japanese closed the Burma Road, necessitating an air bridge over the Himalayas, known as “The Hump.” The C-46 had twice the cabin volume and better high altitude performance than the C-47, so it was perfectly suited to the treacherous task.
This C-46 served with more than fifteen airlines after WWII.
