thedrifter
03-18-04, 11:42 AM
Issue Date: March 15, 2004
The Lore of the Corps
R5C Commando saw little glory for critical WWII role
By Robert F. Dorr
Special to the Times
A twin-engined-transport plane not known for its good looks became an asset to Marine Corps air transport squadrons during World War II.
The plane was the Curtiss R5C Commando. The R5C is better known by its Army Air Corps designation as the C-46.
One pilot who flew the R5C was 1st Lt. Tyrone Power, a Hollywood actor who starred in prewar movies such as “Crash Dive.” Power flew with Marine Transport Squadron 352 at El Centro, Calif., in 1944, and VMR-353 on the Pacific islands of Kwajalein and Saipan in 1945.
The builder of the R5C was the company established by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss and headquartered in St. Louis. Engineers designed the plane as an airliner, calling it the CW-20 in civilian jargon.
Development of the CW-20 began in 1936 under chief designer George A. Page, and was the costliest project undertaken by Curtiss.
The goal was to replace the Curtiss Condor and other biplane transports. The monoplane Douglas DC-3, — later known as the C-47 or R4D Skytrain in the military — already was in service with American Airlines.
Curtiss wanted to make a plane that was larger and faster.
The new transport was powered by two 1,650-horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-2800-17 Double Wasp 18-cylinder radial engines.
The CW-20 made its initial flight at St. Louis on March 26, 1940, piloted by Edmund T. “Eddie” Allen, who later died testing the B-29 Superfortress. Curtiss revealed the existence of the aircraft April 11, 1940, but the airplane suddenly took on a new significance with the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The military potential of the design, always obvious, became paramount.
Most Commando transports went to the Army as C-46s.
They were famous for flying supplies over the “Hump,” the harrowing air route over the Himalaya mountains from India to China.
Marine Corps R5C operations never earned much recognition. A history published in 1950 by the Corps noted only that, “Marine Corps R5C Commandos performed yeoman cargo-hauling duties in the Southwest Pacific.”
Of 3,181 Commandos built in four factories (three Curtiss plants plus the Higgins Boat facility in New Orleans), 160 were transferred from the Army to the Navy for Marine Corps use. Squadrons VMR-252 and VMR-952 acquired R5Cs at Ewa, Hawaii, in August 1944 and flew them during the invasions of the Marshall and Mariana islands, ending up on Guam in early 1945.
Other Marine squadrons that flew the planes in the Pacific were VMR-253, VMR-352, VMR-353 and VMR-953. According to Marine Corps documents, one R5C squadron made 79 flights into embattled Iwo Jima in early 1945 and evacuated 625 wounded Marines from the island.
A 1978 history by the enthusiast group Air-Britain, states that most Marine Corps R5Cs were scrapped immediately after the war, but the L.B. Smith Aircraft Corp. of Miami, converted a few into civilian freighters.
Marine Commandos were known initially as R5C-1 models. Some were later used as R5C-1T multi-engine trainers in the late 1940s. One plane configured as an executive transport was known as an R5C-1Z.
The R5C Commando had a wingspan of 108 feet and a design empty weight of 29,482 pounds. It had a maximum speed of 269 miles per hour.
In addition to equipping transport units, the planes appear to have been assigned in ones and twos to various locations for transport duty.
Most were retired in 1946 and 1947, but one R5C was supporting Marine operations in Tsingtao, China, in 1948.
Ten R5Cs acquired by the Coast Guard in 1943 were transferred to the Marine Corps several years later and remained on duty until at least 1954.
A former Marine R5C-1 is on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, Fla.
Robert F. Dorr, an Air Force veteran, lives in Oakton, Va. He is the author of numerous books, including “Air Force One.” E-mail him at robertdorr@aol.com.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-2693729.php
Ellie
The Lore of the Corps
R5C Commando saw little glory for critical WWII role
By Robert F. Dorr
Special to the Times
A twin-engined-transport plane not known for its good looks became an asset to Marine Corps air transport squadrons during World War II.
The plane was the Curtiss R5C Commando. The R5C is better known by its Army Air Corps designation as the C-46.
One pilot who flew the R5C was 1st Lt. Tyrone Power, a Hollywood actor who starred in prewar movies such as “Crash Dive.” Power flew with Marine Transport Squadron 352 at El Centro, Calif., in 1944, and VMR-353 on the Pacific islands of Kwajalein and Saipan in 1945.
The builder of the R5C was the company established by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss and headquartered in St. Louis. Engineers designed the plane as an airliner, calling it the CW-20 in civilian jargon.
Development of the CW-20 began in 1936 under chief designer George A. Page, and was the costliest project undertaken by Curtiss.
The goal was to replace the Curtiss Condor and other biplane transports. The monoplane Douglas DC-3, — later known as the C-47 or R4D Skytrain in the military — already was in service with American Airlines.
Curtiss wanted to make a plane that was larger and faster.
The new transport was powered by two 1,650-horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-2800-17 Double Wasp 18-cylinder radial engines.
The CW-20 made its initial flight at St. Louis on March 26, 1940, piloted by Edmund T. “Eddie” Allen, who later died testing the B-29 Superfortress. Curtiss revealed the existence of the aircraft April 11, 1940, but the airplane suddenly took on a new significance with the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The military potential of the design, always obvious, became paramount.
Most Commando transports went to the Army as C-46s.
They were famous for flying supplies over the “Hump,” the harrowing air route over the Himalaya mountains from India to China.
Marine Corps R5C operations never earned much recognition. A history published in 1950 by the Corps noted only that, “Marine Corps R5C Commandos performed yeoman cargo-hauling duties in the Southwest Pacific.”
Of 3,181 Commandos built in four factories (three Curtiss plants plus the Higgins Boat facility in New Orleans), 160 were transferred from the Army to the Navy for Marine Corps use. Squadrons VMR-252 and VMR-952 acquired R5Cs at Ewa, Hawaii, in August 1944 and flew them during the invasions of the Marshall and Mariana islands, ending up on Guam in early 1945.
Other Marine squadrons that flew the planes in the Pacific were VMR-253, VMR-352, VMR-353 and VMR-953. According to Marine Corps documents, one R5C squadron made 79 flights into embattled Iwo Jima in early 1945 and evacuated 625 wounded Marines from the island.
A 1978 history by the enthusiast group Air-Britain, states that most Marine Corps R5Cs were scrapped immediately after the war, but the L.B. Smith Aircraft Corp. of Miami, converted a few into civilian freighters.
Marine Commandos were known initially as R5C-1 models. Some were later used as R5C-1T multi-engine trainers in the late 1940s. One plane configured as an executive transport was known as an R5C-1Z.
The R5C Commando had a wingspan of 108 feet and a design empty weight of 29,482 pounds. It had a maximum speed of 269 miles per hour.
In addition to equipping transport units, the planes appear to have been assigned in ones and twos to various locations for transport duty.
Most were retired in 1946 and 1947, but one R5C was supporting Marine operations in Tsingtao, China, in 1948.
Ten R5Cs acquired by the Coast Guard in 1943 were transferred to the Marine Corps several years later and remained on duty until at least 1954.
A former Marine R5C-1 is on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, Fla.
Robert F. Dorr, an Air Force veteran, lives in Oakton, Va. He is the author of numerous books, including “Air Force One.” E-mail him at robertdorr@aol.com.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-2693729.php
Ellie