North American AJ Savage

Overview

The North American AJ Savage (later A-2 Savage) a U.S Navy carrier-based medium bomber built by North American Aviation. It was designed shortly after World War II to carry atomic bombs. To do this, it needed a 12,000-pound (5,400 kg) bomb load, making it the heaviest aircraft yet built to operate from a carrier. The Savage was powered by two piston engines and a turbojet mounted in the rear fuselage. The AJ-1 entered service in 1950. Several were deployed to South Korea in 1953 as a deterrent against North Korea. A total of 140 aircraft were built, along with three prototypes. Thirty were configured for reconnaissance. In the mid-1950s, inflight-refueling equipment was added. The Savage began to be replaced in 1957 by the Douglas A3D Skywarrior. After its military career, it was used for experiments such microgravity flights and jet engine testing.