Developed by Canadair Ltd of Montreal to meet the requirements of the Royal Canadian Air Force and Trans-Canada Air Lines (later known as Air Canada) the C4, as it was designated, was also ordered by BOAC, who called it the Argonaut. The aircraft was basically a pressurised Douglas DC-4 with British Rolls-Royce Merlin 626 engines. By 1957 BOAC wished to dispose of their aircraft and several were foisted onto their subsidiary airlines such as EAA and Aden Airways. They were known to be very noisy for passengers and well past their best. Happily EAA had their eyes to the future and ordered the Comet 4 at about the same time. Used initially on the route to London, then on African regional routes and to Asia. Disposed of in 1962. The following pictures of VP-KOI are courtesy of H. John Black.
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| Registration | Aircraft | c/n | Previous | Acquired | Disposal | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VP-KNY | Canadair C-4 | 161 | G-ALHO | 1957 | 1962 | Crashed Embakasi 4/11/62 |
| VP-KOI | Canadair C-4 | 152 | G-ALHF | 1957 | 1963 | Leased to Aden Airways 1963. Sold to Brit air(East Africa) Ltd. but not used. |
| VP-KOJ | Canadair C-4 | 159 | G-ALHM | 1957 | 1963 | Leased to Aden Airways 1963. Sold to Brit air(East Africa) Ltd. but not used. To Air Links as G-ALHM on 4/9/64. WFU 11/65. Final ferry flight to Castle Donnington for British Midland as spares on 9/3/66. |
| VP-KOT | Canadair C-4 | 156 | G-ALHJ | 1958 | 1958 | Used from 2/2/58 to 12/58. Used for apprentice training at Heathrow in 1961. To Fire Section 1970. Gone by ?? |
| VP-KOY | Canadair C-4 | 146 | G-ALHD | 1959 | 1959 | Short-term lease to EAAC 27/2/59 to 20/4/59 then back to BOAC as G-ALHD |
| G-ALHU | Canadair C-4 |
166 | – | 1957 (?) | – | Short-term lease to EAAC dates unknown |