BobnDusty
16th May 2014, 10:07
Long time lurker and first time poster . . .
A friend and I are working to write a story and it involves a modern day climbing party coming across the bones of an old C46 Curtiss Commando. Anybody familiar with the C46 knows it was highly valued for flying mountains, such as the Burma Hump, because it could fly more, higher, and farther than the C47. Because of the same capabilities, the airplane was prized as an airliner at the late 1940s/early 1950s.
The story is set in 1947 when the Indo - Pakistani War began, as Pakistan broke away from the UK and India. The area was in post-war turmoil, with lots of refugees and riots.
In our story, the airplane took off with a load of 3-4 dozen passengers, their bags, and a small load of freight. Included in the freight were some high value objects from Buddhist temples and monasteries, as Pakistan was becoming a Muslim nation. Nothing really heavy or large in terms of what the airplane could do. For each flight, think in terms of a few museum items like gold statues the size of a desk lamp, etc. The airline would have known that the flights were carrying small loads of valuable cargo. After the airplane crashed, a few locals picked it over but never got into the crushed portions.
So here comes the question for any old timers who have experience with the C46. Where and how would you have loaded such items on the Commando? Simply at the back of the cabin? Behind the cockpit? One of the lower holds?
I appreciate any thoughts or comments. Rather than just killing time at bars & hotels on trips, it's been a fun project to try (thinly) to justify all those beers.
Thanks in advance!
A friend and I are working to write a story and it involves a modern day climbing party coming across the bones of an old C46 Curtiss Commando. Anybody familiar with the C46 knows it was highly valued for flying mountains, such as the Burma Hump, because it could fly more, higher, and farther than the C47. Because of the same capabilities, the airplane was prized as an airliner at the late 1940s/early 1950s.
The story is set in 1947 when the Indo - Pakistani War began, as Pakistan broke away from the UK and India. The area was in post-war turmoil, with lots of refugees and riots.
In our story, the airplane took off with a load of 3-4 dozen passengers, their bags, and a small load of freight. Included in the freight were some high value objects from Buddhist temples and monasteries, as Pakistan was becoming a Muslim nation. Nothing really heavy or large in terms of what the airplane could do. For each flight, think in terms of a few museum items like gold statues the size of a desk lamp, etc. The airline would have known that the flights were carrying small loads of valuable cargo. After the airplane crashed, a few locals picked it over but never got into the crushed portions.
So here comes the question for any old timers who have experience with the C46. Where and how would you have loaded such items on the Commando? Simply at the back of the cabin? Behind the cockpit? One of the lower holds?
I appreciate any thoughts or comments. Rather than just killing time at bars & hotels on trips, it's been a fun project to try (thinly) to justify all those beers.
Thanks in advance!