AeroClassics 200 AC411116

AeroClassics, 200 AC219754 is a 1/200 scale, diecast model of the Curtiss C-46F, “The Tinker Belle”, s/n 44-78774, in a United States Army Air Force (USAAF) colour scheme.

Commando S/N 22597

Curtiss C-46F Commando, construction number 22597, military serial number 44-78774, was built in 1945 for the USAAF. Post military service employed as an airliner and then in the Confederate Air Force in February 1976, then in January 2011, to the Warriors and Warbirds Inc., North Carolina. The current owners, the City of Monroe, North Carolina, purchased the airframe in May 2011 and maintained it in airworthy condition.

Curtiss C-46 Commando

The Curtiss C-46 Commando is an American twin-engine transport aircraft that first flew on March 26, 1940, and entered service later that same year with the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC), designated the R5C by the US Navy and Marine Corps.

During World War II, it operated in most theatres of operation. It gained fame for its flights over “The Hump” (the Himalayan Mountains), where it transported supplies from India to China.

At the time of its production, the C-46 was the largest twin-engine aircraft in the world, boasting a cargo capacity twice the volume and three times the weight of the C-47. The aircraft remained in service with the United States Air Force (USAF) until 1968 and was also utilised during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. After the war, it saw limited use as a commercial airliner due to its high operating costs. Production of the C-46 ended in 1945, with 3,181 airframes completed.

The C-46 has a flight crew of two pilots, a navigator, and an optional loadmaster. It is powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-51 Double Wasp 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, which drive either four-bladed Curtiss Electric constant-speed propellers or, later, three-blade Hamilton-Standard propellers.