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| Date: | Saturday 18 December 1943 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Curtiss C-46A-25-CU Commando |
| Owner/operator: | United States Army Air Force - USAAF |
| Registration: | 41-24702 |
| MSN: | 26623 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1943 |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney R-2800-51 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | UK |
| Location: | 18 km SW of Saul -
 French Guiana
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
The Commando was in South America, being ferried from the USA to Assam, India. It was flying a leg between Georgetown, British Guiana and Belem, Brazil. It was last sighted at 1031 hours, 304 miles southeast of Georgetown, and the last radio transmission from the crew was while flying southeast of Zandery, Surinam on a course which was direct to Amapa, Brazil. Search and Rescue was conducted by Naval Aviation Squadron VB-131 stationed in Zandery, and all transiting aircraft in the area were informed of this missing Commando. They participated in the search by flying set courses with the purpose of covering as much area as possible and performing a thorough search of the area. No trace of the aircraft was found by them.
Locals discovered the plane's wreckage 18 km southeast of Saul, French Guiana [crash site actually described as 5 miles northeast of Balourou, the location of which is fairly vague]. Crew remains were recovered, transfered to Saul and buried there under the supervision of French Missionary Reverend Maurice Didier. Subsequently the remains of crew members were recovered from Saul, French Guiana by a USAAF search party, and transfered to an American military cemetery in Trinidad.
Sources:
MACR 1244
https://curtisscommando.e-monsite.com/pages/aircraft/s-n-41-24690-to-41-24639-curtiss-c-46a-25-cu-commando/commando-41-24702.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Oct-2025 05:16 | RDV | Updated [Date, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Country, Phase, Source, Narrative, ] |
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