C-46s In The ETO

[Jack Cook]

C-46D s/n 44-77530 of the 9th AF on a resupply mission over the Ardennes in 1945. This a/c crashed April Fools Day 1945.
How many C-46s were in the ETO??

[Warbird Kid]

What the heck is on the bottom of the fuselage?

[coastdef]

Looks like "para-packs" of supplies. Easier than having to kick everything out the door!

Regards,

Andy

What the heck is on the bottom of the fuselage?

[vg-photo]

They used C-46s in Operation Varsity, the northern crossing of the Rhein in March of 1945. From what I have read, and heard, that was the first time that the C-46 was used in Europe.

[Holedigger]

Was Varsity also the last combat drop use as well? I read that commanders were appalled at the non-self-sealing tank that turned them into flying coffins during the daylight drop over heavily defended German positions!

[RAMC181]

The 9AF's 52nd Troop Carrier Wing was intended to be converted from C-47s to C-46s, but by Operation Varsity only the 349th Troop Carrier Group used C-46s. Out of the 72 dispatched on the Rhine crossing 19 were lost to AAA and a further 38 "severely damaged".
Perhaps if the fuel tanks had been converted to self-sealing types as had been done with the C-47s things would have been different, especially as each C-46 carried twice the number of paratroops as a C-47 (36 vs 18.).

The other Groups in the Wing (61st TCG, 313th TCG, 314th TCG, 315th TCG and the 316th TCG) had begun to receive C-46s but still had full complements of C-47s.

[tom d. friedman]

What the heck is on the bottom of the fuselage?

i've never seen that configuration....... & i consider myself an authority on the c-46!!!!

[coastdef]

First I've seen one a C-46 also, but very common on C-47's, particularly for heavy items (like pack howitzers), or anything else that is going to be difficult to get out the door due to weight/size. As with bomber formations, there is the issue of being in the wrong place at the wrong time; one of our veteran members, Lloyd Neblett, lost the end of a wing on his C-47 on D-Day to a bundle from a plane above his. There is a picture at:

http://www.wwiiadt.org/Our_Heroes/Neblett/Neblett.htm

Regards,

Andy

What the heck is on the bottom of the fuselage?

i've never seen that configuration....... & i consider myself an authority on the c-46!!!!

[Aeronut]

Can I add a little information.
C46 44-77627 was tested by the UK's Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment at RAF Beaulieu during April-May 1945. Amongst trials to drop UK paratroopers and supplies from the fuselage doors they also came up with a way of dropping six CLE supply containers from beneath the fuselage in the same way as the Parapacks were dropped. Unlike the C47 dropping the parapacks / CLE containers left the aircraft clean. Anyone got any decent pictures of parapacks on C47s?[/img]

[Jack Cook]

Anyone got any decent pictures of parapacks on C47s?[/

I'm pretty sure I do

[coastdef]

Here is a webpage with a couple of good pictures of parapacks being mounted on a C-47.

http://www.questmasters.us/C-47A_43-15137_Page_3.html

Regards,

Andy

Anyone got any decent pictures of parapacks on C47s?

[Aeronut]

Thanks for that link coastdef
Its interesting to note that the weights of the US loads were 100 lb or more less than the UK containers (at 350 lb) but that was the difference between the US use of fabric and the UK use of metal.
By the way, the UK started its airborne forces using fabric containers but soon went to rigid metal ones so that the contents got more protection on landing.
interestingly the UK container was designed to the same overall dimensions as a 250 lb bomb so that the bombers used as drop aircraft could carry them in the wing bomb cells and bomb bays that had been designed around the same bomb which limited those aircraft in use. Thankfully Roy Chadwick didn't follow the bomb cell concept when he designed the Avro Manchester, otherwise the Lancaster couldn't have carried the variety of weapons it did.