The Fairchild Aircraft Company constructed the Model F-24 as a light, civil aircraft, and the first version flew initially
in 1932. In 1941 the Americans contracted for the F-24 as a military communications
airplane that became known as the
UC-61 Forwarder. The RAF obtained this aircraft under Lend-Lease and renamed it 'Argus.' More than 1000 of the military
F-24s were built.
Between 1940 and 1945, two Argus airplanes were donated to the RCAF by Reader's Digest employees and used in Canada as
liaison and communications aircraft by 12 Squadron, based at Rockcliffe, Ottawa. Both of the Argus F-24s were painted
entirely silver.
The CWH Argus was made in 1946 by Texas Engineering and Manufacturing Company (TEMCO) and flown out of Pensacola, Florida
by the US Navy. It was then brought to Canada in the late 1940s and was based in northern Ontario. The Argus was equipped
with floats and employed to transport furs and fish. The Museum acquired the Argus in 1983.
