RCAF welcomes the Argus
The crew called them big birds. The 33 Argus long-range patrol aircraft, designed as submarine hunters, were bigger than the wartime planes they replaced beginning in March 1958.
The plane, which had more sensors than any other at the time, was named after the hundred-eyed giant of Greek mythology. The sensors were needed to track the new Soviet submarines. The Argus had four huge engines and two big bomb bays that could handle torpedoes, bombs or depth charges.
Missions often lasted 20 hours or more. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Argus crews flew six hours to their mid-Atlantic station, spent eight hours on patrol, then made the return flight. An Argus of 405 Maritime Patrol Squadron made history in October 1959 with a 7,355-kilometre non-stop flight from Hawaii to North Bay, Ont.
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