• P-05 Argentine Air Force/Fuerza Aereo Argentina, Argentine Aero Military Mission. Delivered 21-Nov-1962.
• P-05 Groupo Aereo Antarctica 1, Based Baiai Blanca, Argentina.
Accident: Esperanza base, Antarctica. 19-Dec-1967. Suffered 65% damage. Recovered and returned by sea to Argentina where it was repaired before returning to Antarctica.
Accident: Matienza base, Antarctica. 08-Aug-1968. Suffered 30% damage and reported as written off perhaps because of inaccessible accident location.
• P-05 Exhibit in Museuo Nacional de Aeronautica, Aeropuerto de Morón, Buenos Aires.
Argentine Air Force History: With no other evidence it is assumed that an Argentinian crew was assigned to ferry P-05 from the DHC factory at Downsview to Argentina in late 1961 presumably to the Aeroparque at Buenos Aires to clear customs and then to El Palomar in a similar manner to P-01 & P-02. It is further assumed that P-05 was transhipped to Antarctica by icebreaker ARA General San Martin from Ushuaia to arrive at Esperanza base on the Trinity peninsula of Graham Land.
It’s actual date of arrival is currently un recorded but it is known that it later become operational in 1962 based at Matienzo on the Nunutak Larsen on the Larsen Iceshelf off the coast of Graham Land.
To avoid the aircraft suffering the gale damage received by some of the other Argentinian Beavers, the aircraft was dismantled in Jun-1962 and stored in shelter until Sep-1962 , through the worst of the Antarctic winter.
Once more operational, during 1963 & 1964 the aircraft was utilized to transport supplies off loaded by the ARA General San Martin at Esperanza Base for onward transmission to Matienza Base.
In 1965 the aircraft was fitted with additional 200 litre fuel tanks & on the 25-Febit flew from Matienza to Hearst Island and then to Deacon which was situated on the Bridgeman Islands to the north of the main Antarctic Peninsula, and then back to Matienza. Subsequently that summer further flights were made to Hearst Island. In early Oct-1965 it undertook a flight to overfly the Chilean O’Higgins base which was situated on an island at the very tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and then on to Deacon, mentioned above. On the 29-Oct 1965 P-05 (together with P-06) flew 1800km in ten hours from Matienza base to Belgrano base on Coates Land, situated to the south East of the lower Antarctic Peninsula.. These long distance flights were presumably in preparation for a greater task which was to support the Argentine Army’s overland expedition to the South Pole, with Belgrano base being a staging post on the route south. as 03-Nov-1965 P-05 (together with Beaver P-06 and DHC-3 TA-05) flew to the South Pole enduring a temperature of -58˚C en route. The aircraft returned to Belgrano base later in the month. It is then recorded as transporting personnel to Sobral base, a summer base built in 1965 and Argentina’s southernmost location in Antarctica. It returned to Belgrano base again carrying personnel on the 29-December.
