Editing Curtiss C-46 Commando (section)

===Pacific Theater===
Most famous for its operations in the [[China Burma India Theater of World War II|China-Burma-India theater]] (CBI) and the [[Pacific War|Far East]], the Commando was a workhorse in flying over "[[The Hump]]" (as the [[Himalaya Mountains]] were nicknamed by Allied airmen), transporting desperately needed supplies to troops in China from bases in India.<ref name= "Mondey p. 72"/> A variety of transports had been employed in the campaign but only the C-46 was able to handle the wide range of adverse conditions encountered by the USAAF. Unpredictably violent weather, heavy cargo loads, high mountain terrain, and poorly equipped and frequently flooded airfields proved a considerable challenge to the transport aircraft then in service, along with a host of engineering and maintenance nightmares due to a shortage of trained air and ground personnel.

After a series of mechanical problems were controlled if not surmounted, the C-46 proved its worth in the airlift operation despite maintenance headaches. It could carry more cargo higher than other Allied twin-engine transport aircraft in the theater, including light artillery, fuel, ammunition, parts of aircraft and, on occasion, livestock. Its powerful engines enabled it to climb satisfactorily with heavy loads, staying aloft on one engine if not overloaded, though "war emergency" load limits of up to {{cvt|40000|lb|kg}} often erased any safety margins. After the troublesome Curtiss-Electric electrically controlled pitch mechanism on the propellers had been removed, the C-46 continued to be employed in the CBI and over wide areas of southern China throughout the war years.<ref name= "Mondey p. 72"/> Even so, the C-46 was referred to by ATC pilots as the "flying coffin" with at least 31 known instances of fires or explosions in flight between May 1943 and March 1945 and many others missing and never found.<ref name="coffin">Carter 1958, p. 25.</ref> Other names used by the men who flew them were "The Whale", the "Curtiss Calamity", and the "plumber's nightmare".<ref name= "Davis p.11">Davis et al. 1978, p. 11.</ref> The C-46's huge cargo volume (twice that of the C-47), three times the weight, large cargo doors, powerful engines and long range also made it suitable for the vast distances of the Pacific island campaign. In particular, the U.S. Marines found the aircraft (known as the R5C) useful in their amphibious Pacific operations, flying supplies in and wounded personnel out of numerous and hastily built island landing strips.