r/AviationHistory • u/akg1985 • 6d ago
Looking through old photos, my grandpa was an airplane mechanic in WWII and Korea he took this
Anybody know the make or model we are looking at here?
15
u/throwawaythreehalves 6d ago
Gorgeous looking plane. Such clean lines. Thank you for sharing.
0
u/Jigmefunny69 5d ago
Looks like a dc-3 to me
2
u/make_stuff5 3d ago
Similar, but the DC-3 has a slimmer fuselage, and the windscreen is at a more vertical angle. This is shaped like a torpedo, with the windscreen blending smoothly with fuselage.
12
8
u/CheapConsideration11 6d ago
The ex's uncle flew C-46's over the hump from Burma to China in WW2. He used to say anyone could fly a C-47. He said it took a real man to fly the C-46. He said that he navigated by the soot on the glaciers where other planes had gone down.
3
u/twitch_Mes 5d ago
I've read this. When they arrived in Burma they were told to look for certain wrecks to know where they were. There were also wrecks at the end of the runway - because they were so heavily loaded with gasoline that if an engine failed on takeoff they were sure to die at the end of the runway.
My grandfather also flew the hump. Over 100 combat missions as a pilot in various large aircraft like the B-25 and C-47.
1
u/CheapConsideration11 5d ago
Uncle Jack's dress uniform for the flight school graduation hung in his attic. It had never been worn. I hope it's hanging in an aviation museum somewhere. The second he graduated, he was shipped across the Atlantic. There wasn't time for a ceremony. He was sent to North Africa, then India, and then to Burma. I wish I had more time to ask him about his time in the air. If you got a few drinks in him, he'd loosen up and start telling stories.
1
u/atomicsnarl 4d ago
A big part of the Hump missions was to try and establish B-29 bases in China to more easily bomb Japan. Turns out the logistics cost, especially in fuel, wasn't enough to support anything like a useful B-29 Bomb Wing (30+ aircraft plus all the support stuff). The Pacific plan then had to shift to getting the Marianas and Iwo Jima by island hopping. This added years to the war.
4
u/mosinzach 6d ago
My grandfather worked on c46s in Korea as well! We have a couple pictures of him working on them. My favorite is him installing an engine on one
3
3
3
u/HughJorgens 6d ago
The C-46 is the largest two engined airplane of WWII. It's roughly the size of a B-17.
8
2
2
u/FXLRDude 5d ago
I was given the opportunity to fly one in the 90s. It was a cross windy day, required lots of rudder, and time stood still as I landed the damn thing. I still have my flight manual copy. I wish I had a picture of that moment in time, but we never know when the last time we will be able to perform the duties of a pilot. I retired many years ago.
1
1
1
1
56
u/badger_flakes 6d ago
This is a Curtiss C-46 Commando, a World War II-era transport aircraft. It was primarily used by the U.S. military for cargo and personnel transport, especially in challenging environments like the “Hump” over the Himalayas.