The mission of IX Troop Carrier Command was air transport for the Allied airborne divisions in the European Theater of Operations. The primary aircraft of IX TCC was the C-47 Skytrain and its variant, the C-53 Skytrooper, but in 1945 IX Troop Carrier Command equipped one group with 117 C-46 Commando aircraft to determine their viability in the ETO. As a result of a 28% loss ratio during Operation Varsity resulting from the C-46's high inflammability, IX TCC did not convert to the Commando, even though its cargo-carrying capacity was twice that of the C-47. IX TCC also had 1,922 CG-4A Waco and 20 Waco CG-13 gliders just prior to its last major operation in March 1945.