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On March 26, 1940 the Curtiss C-46 first took wing. This plane was
intended to be Curtiss’ entry into the "new era" of air transportation that
was to happen in the next few years. Plans changed as the war began and
the military bought all but a very few of the production of the Curtiss Commando that came down the line. The plane was flown by every branch of
service as the C-46 by the U.S.A.A.F. plus numerous foreign countries, and
the R5C by the naval services. The single most notable period was "Flying
the Burma Hump" between India to China over Burma bringing much needed war
supplies to those standing off the Japanese at that time. The Commando's
war efforts did not end until Air America’s demise at the end on the Viet
Nam War. During the years between she served with a number of armed
forces, as did our plane, N54514 who served with the Japanese J.A.S.D.F..
Possibly out shining "Flying the Hump" was the period after the war when
many airlines were getting back on their feet with their civil air routes
and there were almost as many new companies being formed. Many of these
companies initially turned to war surplus aircraft and the C-46 finally
went into civil service. Some of the more notable companies to fly the
"Forty-Six' were Flying Tiger, World, Pan Am, Slick, TWA, Lufthansa,
Reeves, Wien, Alaska, and enough more that it would take a book to just
list them. During this period she helped make many of these names either
in first line passenger duties, or setting the stage for the vast cargo
network that spans North America today.
Everts Air Cargo involvement started with the Everts’ patriarch, Cliff
Everts. Cliff has had an affair with the plane almost since its first
flight. He has owned a number of them over the years and owned Everts Air
Cargo's plane before selling it to Rob Everts. N54514 first flew for the
U.S.A.A.F. in February of 1945 and flew for them for approximately 10
years when it was transferred to the Japanese self defense force. They
flew the plane for another 20 year and then parked it only to be bought in
a short while by Cliff Everts when it was flown to Alaska to sit for
another period. It was bought and rebuilt for operation by Everts Air
Cargo. After a few false starts, 514's rebuild was completed and she went
to work again. For an old gal, she has very few hours and enjoys the
pampering of being operated by people who appreciate her capabilities and
needs.
As with our other aircraft, the DC-6, it is impossible to write a
comprehensive history of the C-46 on a "thumb nail". Her history has been
involved with too many military units and airlines, in more countries than
most of us can think of, and has carried more varied cargo items in her
large belly than can possibly be imagined. I can only say that this
writing hardly scratches the surface of what this plane has done.
And will do . . .
Marty Hall |
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After WWII many airlines went to operating war surplus aircraft. These
aircraft had done yeoman duty for the military but did not benefit from
all the new technology developed during these years. As the flying public
discovered the airlines, and the time saved by air travel, they called for
faster, higher and smoother flying. As Lockheed and Boeing responded to
this new requirement, so did McDonald Douglas.
The DC-6 was an expansion to the
war time C-54 which had been intended to be the civil DC-4. The DC-4 first
flew in 1942 and this was followed almost immediately by intended
modifications that would, by the end of the war, outgrow it. These
included more powerful engines, cabin pressurization, reversing
propellers, numerous electronic modifications and a 81 inch stretch for
more passenger and cargo capacity. It also received a new designation of
the DC-6 flying for the first time in 1946. Even this plane was not what
was needed and it again got another stretch, even more powerful engines
and a cargo door for some of the production. This new version was called
the DC-6A (cargo and passengers) and the DC-6B (passenger only) to become
one of the primary aircraft of the airlines until the advent of the jet.
There is not a major airline that comes to mind that did not operate at
some time at least one version of the DC-6, DC-6A or DC-6B. Also at the
same time the military ordered a few hundred of these aircraft to be flown
as the C-118 for the air force and the R6D for the navy. The last flew for
the military in the mid-80's and some of those planes are still flying on
today as either cargo planes or fire bombers.
Our fleet comes either from the military batch or from other civil
operators. as we are cargo only operators, all of our planes have cargo
doors and are fitted out for that type of flying, how ever, at one time or
another they carried passengers and freight for United, Sabena, South
West Airlines, Western, North East Airlines, Japan Airlines, Cathy
Pacific, the U.S.A.F., the Navy and a few more beyond that.
This is another plane that it is impossible to write a history of on
one short page. The stories that this plane has been involved with already
fills a library full of books at least and I won't try to do that again
here. One thing come to mind, how ever, while there were other competitive
planes being built during her years, their gone and she's not.
Marty Hall |
