A Cuban Mystery Part 2 The unusual story of C-46 CU-C202
Jun 25, 2023 11:22:29 GMT 1
Samba, northbynorthwest, and 7 more like this
Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2023 11:22:29 GMT 1
[yesterdays airlines.com]The C-46 was never the most eye-catching of aircraft, but its popularity with operators overcame any resistance to using them to their limits. Its biggest problem was that it was designed with no engine-out performance, therefore if one of its engines failed, ditching was the only outcome. In the 1980s, when they were widely used throughout Latin America, airfield surroundings were littered with the carcasses of those that had failed to make it.
Many years ago, as part of a British Trade Mission, I visited Cuba, to examine the possibilities of selling the 748 to Cubana and/or Aero Caribbean. We were booked into the Riviera Hotel on the seafront, a Soviet-Era building, which claimed to be a four-star hotel! We arrived late in the evening, so imagine my surprise when, the following morning whilst waiting to be picked up for a meeting, I spotted a C-46 in a plot next to the hotel. I made some enquiries, but few people seemed to know much about it, and it was never open during my time there. The people from Cubana were able to give me some details, but the rest I have put together from the internet.
CU-C202 began life in 1944 as 44-77813, supplied to the US Army Air Force. Following the end of World War II, it was disposed of, and found its way to Cuba Aeropostal, who as the name suggests, ran a number of postal flights both within Cuba and to Miami, at a time when President Fulgencio Batista ran Cuba, and relations with the US were strong. The C-prefix in the registration number indicates that it was only certificated to carry cargo. The aircraft performed its duties under the colours of Cuba Aeropostal until the revolution of 1959, when it was formally incorporated, along with several other private carriers, into Cubana on 15 February 1960. It was finally withdrawn from service in 1970, following which it lay abandoned at Columbia Airport, which was then the main cargo airport.
In 1975, a youth festival was held in Havana, and INIT, the state tourist authority, decided to restore it and move to the Malecon, the Havana seafront. The wings were removed and it was towed by road to its new site, next to the Riviera Hotel, where the wings were re-fitted to the aircraft, still complete with engines.
It became known as ‘El Avioncito’ the word ending normally used to describe something that is small – hardly appropriate for a C-46, but it can also be used as a term of endearment. It was opened as a bar/night club, but despite it being in a tourist area, it apparently attracted very little business. The story goes that the DJ sometimes pretended to be a pilot, and announced the names of the Cuban cities to which the aircraft would ‘fly’. One night, one of the attendees, perhaps having consumed too much of the local rum, shouted “Keep going, and don’t stop until you reach Miami.” The outburst was reported to the authorities. With hi-jackings of Cuban aircraft to Miami rife at the time, this was a very sensitive issue, and since the aircraft/night club was state-owned, it was closed down shortly afterwards.
[Varela Blog]
[cubamaterial.com]Although a lot of development work took place in the area, It stayed there until the late 1980s, when it was moved to a nearby site as part of a redeveloped children’s playground.
[cubamaterial.com]During a tropical storm in the late 1980s, the aircraft was badly damaged. Initially, the tourist authority considered rebuilding it, but given its location and the possibility that it could be damaged again in another of Cuba's frequent tropical storms, it was taken away. Its ultimate fate is unknown, but by 1990, it was no more. What I have always found strange was that the engines were never removed. Whilst the embargo would have forbidden their sale into the US, there would have been plenty of willing purchasers in Latin America.
[Barry Lloyd] 
[Barry Lloyd]
