Things warmed up considerably in February with the squadron participating in several searches. One of them involved a Lancaster from 405 Squadron which was believed down somewhere in the vicinity of Goose Bay. This search was to last from February 2-13 and, in all, over 39 flights were made to try to locate F/O Wagar and crew without success. In addition to this, the squadron also took part in a search for a civilian airliner from the Airways of London company, which was thought to have gone down in the Atlantic. Again nothing was found. The remainder of the month was spent in local flying operations.
On March 2, the squadron crests arrived from a company in England, and to receive a crest, you had to be a squadron member for at least nine months. Immediately there was a huge rush on the part of the aircrew to prove that they qualified for the badge. March also saw four crews winging their way to Comox, British Columbia, to take part in Exercise Seaspring, a local exercise involving a Canadian submarine. The ground crew on this journey took somewhat longer to arrive since they traveled by Dakota, but they finally showed up two days after setting out. April turned out to be a sad month for 404. On April 20, a 103 (Search and Rescue) Squadron Lancaster crashed killing all on board except for the radio operator. Among the four officers and three airmen killed was F/O DA Hamilton who had been on loan from 404 to act as a co-pilot. This was a severe blow to the squadron and many attended Hamilton's funeral in Yarmouth on April 23.
A new month arrived and with it came a task out of the ordinary. Eight aircraft from 404, accompanied by four aircraft from 405 Squadron, took part in a mock bombing raid on Halifax. The purpose of this event was to provide realistic raining for a civil defence exercise that was taking place in the city. It is not very often that members of a squadron have been called upon to attack one of their own cities.
On May 25, the majority of the unit departed for Ottawa led by W/C Galloway. They were to take part in the Coronation Fly-By for Queen Elizabeth the Second. The 12 aircraft from 404 were stationed at Lachine, Quebec, and on June 2 were part of more than 104 RCAF aircraft that roared over the Ottawa valley. The next day they returned to Greenwood.
Variety was added to squadron life by Grab-Bag, an escape and evasion exercise that commenced in June. However, since the weather was very bad at the time, most of the evading forces managed to get themselves captured in no time at all. Later in the month, several crews flew to Churchill, Manitoba, to familiarize themselves with artic conditions prior to operation Nanook '53 which was due to start in July. June ended with the squadron taking part in an exercise with the Australian carrier Sydney.
From July until the end of August, most of the members of 404 found themselves, at one time or another, flying out of some of the remote airstrips in the far north as part of the various stages of Nanook '53. For the most part, operations took place out of RCAF Resolute bay and by July 15 the detachment had settled in. For the next two months, various 404 crews flew ice reconnaissance patrols and relayed the information to a U.S. task force that was steaming north. It was tiring, routine flying that took a toll of men and aircraft, but the squadron did extremely well. One of the brighter points of the operation was the announcement of the pending Armistice in Korea on July 26.
By September, the squadron was back at full strength in Greenwood and ready to take its place in several exercises. One of the more successful was Operation Mariner which was an anti-submarine warfare exercise involving 11 aircraft from 404. During a simulated strike against the convoy, one of the 404 aircraft flow by F/L Davidson decoyed the carrier's protective fighter allowing the remaining Lancaster to fly overtop of the ship before any other fighters could get airborne. This was a rather embarrassing moment for the Navy.
During the first week of October the squadron again suffered a tragedy with the loss of a 404 Lancaster and crew. F/O Pegues flew Lancaster 115 on a test flight early in the morning and it appeared in trouble almost immediately after take-off. It crashed outside the guardhouse by the main gate. Along with F/O Pegues, F/S Klang, Cpl Guerin, Cpl Cordoza, and LAC Green died in the wreck. The funeral for these men was held four days later on October 13.
The year came to an end with the squadron doing what it did best - displaying keen ability in exercise and in searches. The accomplishments of 404 to date were probably best summed up by the comments of the air staff at MAGHQ in their monthly newsletter when they gave the following description of 404:
"Three words describes 404: Serviceable - Mobile - Versatile."