Editing Curtiss C-46 Commando (section)

===Postwar===
[[File:Curtiss C-46A NASA.jpg|thumb|C-46A being used for research in 1946, by [[National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics|NACA]] (Predecessor to NASA)]]
Overall, the C-46 had been successful in its primary role as a wartime cargo transport and had benefited from a series of improvements. Like the C-47/DC-3, the C-46 seemed destined for a useful career as a postwar civilian passenger airliner and was considered for that by [[Eastern Airlines]]. However, the high operating costs of the C-46 (up to 50 percent greater than the C-47), soon caused most operators to change their minds and most postwar C-46 operations were limited to commercial cargo transport and then only for certain routes. One of the C-46's failings was the prodigious fuel consumption of its powerful {{cvt|2000|hp|kW}} engines, which used fuel at a much higher rate than the C-47/DC-3. Maintenance was also more intensive and costlier.<ref name= "Mondey p. 72"/> Despite these disadvantages, surplus C-46s were used by some air carriers, including [[Capitol Air]]ways, [[Flying Tiger Line|Flying Tigers]], [[Civil Air Transport]] and [[World Airways]] to carry cargo and passengers. Many other small carriers also eventually operated the type on scheduled and non-scheduled routes. The C-46 became a common sight in South America and was widely used in Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, especially in mountainous areas (where a good climb rate and high service ceiling were required) or to overfly deep jungle terrain where ground transport was impracticable.

C-46 Commandos also went back to war. A dozen surplus C-46's were purchased in the United States covertly for use in Israel's 1948 war for independence and flown to Czechoslovakia in a circuitous route along South America and then across to Africa. The type's long range proved invaluable in flying cargo, including desperately needed dismantled [[Avia S-199|S-199]] fighters from Czechoslovakia as well as other weapons and military supplies. On the return flight the C-46's would dump bombs out the cargo door on various targets at night, including Gaza, El Arish, Majdal, and Faluja (Egypt and Israel also used C-47s as bombers and transports locally).{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} C-46's served in [[Korean War|Korea]] and [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]] for various U.S. Air Force operations, including supply missions, paratroop drops and clandestine agent transportation. The C-46 was also employed in the abortive U.S.-supported [[Bay of Pigs Invasion|Bay of Pigs invasion]] in 1961. The C-46 was not officially retired from service with the U.S. Air Force until 1968.

The type served in the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA). The C-46 played a supporting role in many clandestine operations during the late 1940s and early 1950s, including supply efforts to Chiang Kai-Shek's troops battling Mao's Communists in China as well as flying cargoes of military and medical supplies to French forces via [[Gialam Airfield]] in Hanoi and other bases in French Indochina. The CIA operated its own "airline" for these operations, Civil Air Transport, which was eventually renamed [[Air America (airline)|Air America]] in 1959. An Air America C-46 was the last fixed-wing aircraft flown out of Vietnam [Saigon] at the close of hostilities there. On 29 April 1975, Capt. E. G. Adams flew a 52-seat version, with 152 people on board, to [[Bangkok, Thailand]].<ref>Adams, Capt E.G. [http://www.air-america.org/Articles/Fall_of_Saigon.shtml#adams "Memories of the Fall of Saigon – April 29, 1975 – Fred Walker's Diary: The Beginning of the End."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720084338/http://www.air-america.org/Articles/Fall_of_Saigon.shtml |date=20 July 2011 }} ''air-america.org.'' Retrieved: 27 October 2011.</ref>

The [[Japan Air Self-Defense Force]] used the Commando until at least 1978. The Republic of China Air Force operated the C-46 up until 1982 before it was retired. Although their numbers began to dwindle, C-46s continued to operate in remote locations and could be seen in service from Canada and Alaska to Africa and South America. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the [[Canada|Canadian]] [[airline]] [[Lamb Air]] operated several C-46s from their bases in [[Thompson, Manitoba|Thompson]] and [[Churchill, Manitoba|Churchill]], [[Manitoba]]. One of the largest C-46 operators was Air Manitoba, whose fleet of aircraft featured gaudy color schemes for individual aircraft. In the 1990s, these aircraft were sold to other owner/operators.<ref>Groves 1994, p. 32.</ref>  Between 1993 and 1995, Relief Air Transport operated three Canadian registered C-46s on Operation Lifeline [[Sudan]] from Lokichoggio, [[Kenya]]. These aircraft also transported humanitarian supplies to [[Goma]], [[Zaire]] and [[Mogadishu]], [[Somalia]] from their base in [[Nairobi]], Kenya. One of the aircraft (C-GIXZ) was lost near Lokichoggio while the remaining two (C-GTXW & C-GIBX) eventually made their way back to Canada. These two aircraft were then operated as freighters for [[First Nations Transportation]] in [[Gimli, Manitoba]] but the airline later ceased operations with one aircraft sold to Buffalo Airways and the other tied up in receivership.<ref>Wiebe, Lindsey. [http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/first-nations-transportation-banned-from-flying-50347287.html "First Nations Transportation banned from flying: 20 people laid off while airline fights suspension."] ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 October 2009.</ref> According to First Nations Transport, as of Jan 2016, the latter aircraft (C-GIBX) was claimed to be airworthy with two new engines and available for sale with the fire bottles and props needing updates. The other former First Nations Transportation C-46 (C-GTXW) flew for [[Buffalo Airways]] until it was scrapped in 2015. Two aircraft of the same type (C-GTPO and C-FAVO) continue to be used by the same carrier primarily in Canada's Arctic. They have been featured on the [[Ice Pilots NWT]] television show.<ref>[http://www.buffaloairways.com/index.php?page=curtiss-c-46 "Buffalo Airways Fleet: C-46 Commando."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122163537/http://www.buffaloairways.com/index.php?page=curtiss-c-46 |date=2013-01-22 }} ''buffaloairways.com'', 2011. Retrieved: 11 May 2011.</ref> Prices for a used C-46 in 1960 ranged from £20,000 for a C-46F conversion, to £60,000 for a C-46R.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1960/1960%20-%202681.html "Curtiss CW-20/C-46 (Commando)."] ''Flight'', 18 November 1960.</ref>