This NG is turning

I've seen little reference to them in Europe.

They were used in Operation Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine,
earning a mixed reputation for survivability in the ETO threat
environment. The gist of it is that they were supposed to catch fire
too easily, and in a uniquely engulfing way, when hit. Some claim
this is more anecdotal than statistical (i.e., did that formation just
happen to encounter particularly intense and effective ground fire?).
Fortunately the defeat of Germany was not far away by then.

See for instance
http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/a...Jun/boston.htm
as well as
http://www.brooks.af.mil/HSW/HO/ww2plane.html
and page 404 and footnote 8 on page 407 of
http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil...reen_light.pdf
[modem users should note that this document takes a while to download]
Compare
http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/a...Jun/boston.htm

Certainly it suffered by comparison to the C-47's reputation as a
tough and dependable aircraft, even though, as far as I know, that
revered plane didn't have self-sealing fuel tanks either (they were
experimented with, but I don't know whether that ever come to fruition
operationally).

Finally, here is a link to an interesting story by someone who flew
the C-46 (not during WW2) under different circumstances at a couple of
points in his life:
http://www.avweb.com/news/columns/182136-1.html

Note that I speak without firsthand experience or deep research
knowledge in the above matters -- just some pointers to what others
have written.

Cheers,
--Joe