The Argus Camera Company of Ann Arbor, Michigan was one of the companies comprising Bendix's "secret weapon" during WWII. In 1939 Argus discontinued its radio business in favor of its growing camera business, and it began doing Lend Lease and War Department production in 1940. By the end of 1941 Argus's factory on William Street was fully engaged in Bendix Radio work and a new factory was under construction across the street for military optical products.

There is considerable documentation of Argus's WWII optical work [see the film Argus Eyes for Victory] but very little on Argus's Bendix Radio production. Virtually all of this documentation consists of 6 pages of photos that appeared in an Argus progress report in 1946.

These pages are labeled "WWII Production Activities — Electronic Devices." The pictures have cryptic captions like "Azimuth Control" or "Power Supply" but no specific identification. With some exceptions, everything identified to date has been a Bendix Radio product or sub-assembly.

This site is part of an effort to identify the components shown in the 1946 Argus report. It is aimed at long-time Bendix employees, ham radio experts, veterans of military aviation, and anyone else who is knowledgeable about WWII military radio equipment. The links above connect to the original pages of the Argus report, a summary of what has been identified, and two pages showing what remains a mystery.

Please help us! If you can supply any information, contact us at the email address below. We will be presenting a summary of what is learned at an exhibit of Argus-made Bendix material at the Argus Museum in Ann Arbor in October of this year.

Thank you,

Mike Reitsma and Pam Buckley
Burlingame, California
reitsma.mike@gmail.com

March, 2015