Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.

Curtiss Wright C-46 Commando

C46-30243Written off

RegistrationUSN355BY

Verified aircraft dataagainst the official civil aviation register

VAOperatorVARIG

2operators

0incidents

0accidents

0logbook years

0photos

Curtiss Wright C-46 Commando. Operated for United States Army Air Forces and VARIG.

Vuelopedia is a work in progress: it currently holds about 30% of the information we expect to have by the third quarter of 2027. Although we use only official, highly reliable sources, some aircraft data and history may still contain errors or inaccuracies. We work hard to clear every anomaly from the records using specialized verification tools.

Technical data

Country of registrationEstados Unidos

MSN30243

VerificationIdentity verified against the official register of FAA (United States) · Oct 8, 2026

The model · Curtiss C-46 Commando

Figures for the C-46A variant, the most representative of the family

Length23.3 m76 ft

Wingspan32.9 m108 ft

Height6.6 m22 ft

Range5,069 km2,737 NMWith a typical passenger load

Cruise speed278 km/h150 ktMach 0.26

Service ceiling7,468 m24,501 ft

Maximum take-off weight20,412 kg45,001 lb

Maximum payload6,501 kg14,332 lbIts 40 passengers with baggage would weigh about 4.0 t; the rest is fuel and cargo

Typical capacity40 passengers

Endurance18 h 14 minAt cruise speed, non-stop

The type first flew in 1940 (86 years ago) · About 3,181 units built · Production ended in 1945

Figures for the type, not for this particular aircraft: each variant and each configuration changes something. They are shown in both systems used in aviation.

The full story of the Curtiss C-46 Commando Compare this aircraft

Flight logbook

Under research

Aircraft chronology

Jun 1, 1951

Delivered to VARIG

Delivered to VARIG as PP-VBY.

Operators

—

United States Army Air Forces

Registration 42-96581

1951-06-01

VARIG

Registration PP-VBY

In memoriam

This aircraft suffered a serious accident or hull loss. Out of respect for what happened and for the people who may have been affected, this record does not enable the register of memories.

Cite

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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). Curtiss Wright C-46 Commando · N355BY · VARIG. Retrieved October 19, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/C46-30243

MLA

“Curtiss Wright C-46 Commando · N355BY · VARIG.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/C46-30243. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Curtiss Wright C-46 Commando · N355BY · VARIG.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/C46-30243.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Curtiss Wright C-46 Commando · N355BY · VARIG. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/C46-30243 (Accessed: 19 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_aircraft_c46_30243,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Curtiss Wright C-46 Commando · N355BY · VARIG}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-15},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/C46-30243},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/C46-30243}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-19},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-19}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/C46-30243 |title=Curtiss Wright C-46 Commando · N355BY · VARIG |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-19 |language=en}}