The U.S. Navy anti-submarine aircraft carrier USS Tarawa (CVS-40) in the South Atlantic during "Operation Argus" on 13 August 1958.
"Operation Argus" was a series of nuclear weapons tests and missile tests secretly conducted during August and September of 1958 over the South Atlantic Ocean by the United States's Defense Nuclear Agency, in conjunction with the Explorer 4 space mission. The naval task force was Task Force 88, its staff, which was in overall command, being aboard the USS Tarawa. The commanding officer of the Tarawa served as commader of Task Group 88.1. The USS Tarawa carried an U.S. Air Force MSQ-1A radar and communications vans for missile tracking and gathering scientific data, visible in front of the twin 12,7 cm gun turrets on the flight deck. The 19 Grumman S2F-2 Tracker aircraft of anti-submarine squadron VS-32 Norsemen flew search and security missions as well as scientific measurement, photographic, and observer missions during the missile and weapons tests.