The North American AJ Savage (later A-2 Savage) is an American
carrier-based medium bomber
A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...
built for the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
by
North American Aviation
North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F ...
. The aircraft was designed shortly after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
to carry
atomic bomb
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
s and this meant that the bomber was the heaviest aircraft thus far designed to operate from an aircraft carrier. It was powered by two
piston engine
A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common featu ...
s and a
turbojet
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
buried in the rear
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
. The AJ-1 first became operational in 1950 and several were based in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
during 1953 as a deterrent against
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
. Of the 140 built, plus three
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
s, 30 were
reconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as ...
.
Inflight-refueling equipment was deployed on the Savage in the mid-1950s. The bomber was replaced by the
Douglas A3D Skywarrior
The Douglas A-3 Skywarrior is a jet-powered strategic bomber that was developed and produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was designed by Douglas on behalf of the United States Navy, which sought a carrier-capable strategic bomber. Du ...
beginning in 1957.
Design and development
At the end of World War II, the U.S. Navy began a design competition on 13 August 1945 for a carrier-based bomber which could carry a bomb that was won by North American Aviation. Later that year, the Navy decided that it needed to be able to deliver atomic bombs and that the AJ Savage design would be adapted to accommodate the latest
Mark 4 nuclear bomb
The Mark 4 nuclear bomb was an American implosion-type nuclear bomb based on the earlier Mark 3 Fat Man design, used in the Trinity test and the bombing of Nagasaki. With the Mark 3 needing each individual component to be hand-assembled by only h ...
, the next step in development from the more sophisticated imploding plutonium sphere design
Fat Man
"Fat Man" (also known as Mark III) is the codename for the type of nuclear bomb the United States detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. It was the second of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in warfare, the fir ...
Mk3 used on
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
. A contract for three XAJ-1 prototypes and a static test airframe was awarded on 24 June 1946. The first prototype made its
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...
two years later on 3 July 1948. That same year the US Navy began an interim capability program employing the
Lockheed P-2 Neptune
The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) is a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and ...
carrying a crash program reproduction of the smaller simpler all uranium 'gun' design
Little Boy
"Little Boy" was the type of atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 during World War II, making it the first nuclear weapon used in warfare. The bomb was dropped by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress ''Enola Gay'' p ...
nuclear bomb as its first carrier launched nuclear bomber aircraft until the Savage was in service. The Neptune launched using
JATO
JATO (acronym for jet-assisted take-off) is a type of assisted take-off for helping overloaded aircraft into the air by providing additional thrust in the form of small rockets. The term ''JATO'' is used interchangeably with the (more specific ...
assist but could not land on existing carriers; if launched they had to either ditch at sea after its mission or land at a friendly airbase.
The AJ-1 was a three-seat, high-wing
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
with
tricycle landing gear
Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...
. To facilitate carrier operations, the outer wing panels and the tailfin could be manually folded. It was fitted with two
Pratt & Whitney R-2800-44W Double Wasp piston engines, mounted in
nacelle
A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...
s under each wing with a large
turbocharger
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
fitted inside each engine nacelle, and a
Allison J33
The General Electric/Allison J33 is a development of the General Electric J31, enlarged to produce significantly greater thrust, starting at and ending at with an additional low-altitude boost to with water-alcohol injection.
Development
Th ...
-A-10
turbojet
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
was fitted in the rear fuselage.
The jet engine was only intended for takeoff and maximum speed near the target,
[Johnson 2000, p. 343.] and was fed by an air inlet on top of the fuselage that was normally kept closed to reduce drag. To simplify the fuel system, the jet engine used piston engine
avgas
Avgas (aviation gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the UK) is an aviation fuel used in aircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. ''Avgas'' is distinguished from conventional gasoline (petrol) used in motor vehicles, w ...
rather than jet fuel. One
self-sealing fuel tank
A self-sealing fuel tank is a type of fuel tank, typically used in aircraft fuel tanks or fuel bladders, that prevents them from leaking fuel and igniting after being damaged.
Typical self-sealing tanks have multiple layers of rubber and reinforc ...
was housed in the fuselage, and another tank was located in each wing. The aircraft usually carried
tip
Tip commonly refers to:
* Tip (gambling)
* Tip (gratuity)
* Tip (law enforcement)
* another term for Advice (opinion), Advice
Tip or TIP may also refer to:
Science and technology
* Tank phone, a device allowing infantry to communicate with the oc ...
tanks and it could house three fuel tanks in the
bomb bay
The bomb bay or weapons bay on some military aircraft is a compartment to carry bombs, usually in the aircraft's fuselage, with "bomb bay doors" which open at the bottom. The bomb bay doors are opened and the bombs are dropped when over th ...
with a total capacity of . Other than its bombload, the bomber was unarmed.
![N](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/N.A._AJ-2_Savage_134039_VC-7_Blackbushe_07.09.55.jpg)
Two of the three prototypes crashed during testing, but their loss did not materially affect the development of the aircraft as the first batch of Savages had been ordered on 6 October 1947. The most significant difference between the XAJ-1 and the production aircraft was the revision of the cockpit to accommodate a third crewman in a separate compartment. The first flight by a production aircraft occurred in May 1949 and Fleet Composite Squadron 5 (VC-5) became the first
squadron
Squadron may refer to:
* Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies
* Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...
to receive a Savage in September. The squadron participated in testing and evaluating the aircraft together with the
Naval Air Test Center (NATC) in order to expedite the Savage's introduction into the fleet.
[Miller 2001, p. 94] The first carrier takeoff and landing made by the bomber took place from the on 21 April and 31 August 1950, respectively. Many, if not most, surviving AJ-1s had their tails upgraded to the improved AJ-2 configuration.
A
photo-reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of imag ...
version of the Savage, initially known as the AJ-1P, but later designated as the AJ-2P, was ordered on 18 August 1950. It had improved R-2800-48 piston engines and the tail was redesigned to add of height to the tailfin. The 12°
dihedral of the tail stabilizers was eliminated and the
rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...
enlarged which slightly lengthened the aircraft. Early AJ-2Ps retained the three-man crew, but late-model aircraft added a fourth aft-facing crewman to the upper
cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
. The Savage's internal fuel capacity was also increased. The nose of the aircraft was remodeled with a prominent "chin" to accommodate a forward-looking oblique camera and a variety of oblique and vertical cameras could be fitted in the bomb bay.
Photoflash bomb Flashbombs are loaded into a photo-reconnaissance Melsbroek_Air_Base.html"_;"title="De_Havilland_Mosquito_at_Melsbroek_Air_Base">Melsbroek,_Belgium._c.1944
A_photoflash_bomb,_or_flash_bomb,_is_bomb.html" ;"title="Melsbroek Air Base">Melsbroek, B ...
s could be carried for night photography missions.
The AJ-2 incorporated all of the changes made to the late model AJ-2P and 55 aircraft were ordered on 14 February 1951. The AJ-2 deleted the separate compartment for the third crewman, but retained the third seat in the cockpit from the AJ-2P.
Around 1954, NATC modified the sole surviving XAJ-1 to conduct inflight refueling tests using the
probe and drogue
Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...
configuration. The turbojet engine was removed and the fuel hose and its drogue extended out from the jet's former exhaust opening. Aircraft in service retained the turbojet and had their bomb bay doors modified to accommodate the hose and drogue. They were refueling aircraft during late 1954.
Operational history
When first deployed, the AJ-1 was too large and heavy to be used by any American aircraft carrier except for the . The modernized carriers with reinforced
decks and the very large could also handle the Savage. The aircraft was not popular aboard ship as "it was so big and cumbersome that it complicated any other flight operations the ship was required to conduct."
[ One problem was that the wings had to be folded one at a time by a crewman on top of the fuselage with a portable hydraulic pump, a time-consuming process, so that the bomber could be moved out of the way to allow other aircraft to land or take off. One pilot reported that the AJ-1 was "a dream to fly and handled like a fighter", when everything was working properly. The aircraft, however, was not very reliable, possibly because it was rushed into production before all the problems could be ironed out.
Early in the Savage's career, squadrons would typically deploy a detachment to ]Naval Air Station Port Lyautey
Naval Air Station Port Lyautey is a former United States Navy Naval Air Station in Morocco, about north-northwest of Kenitra and about northeast of Casablanca. The Naval Air Station was turned over to the Royal Moroccan Air Force and the last o ...
, Morocco, for service with the Sixth Fleet and fly the bombers aboard aircraft carriers that were already deployed to the Mediterranean as needed. The plan was that the Savages would then be loaded with atomic bombs already aboard the carriers and launched once the carriers were in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
. The tactic to deliver the bombs was to fly at low level through Bulgaria and Romania before climbing at maximum power to the proper altitude to release the bomb. The aircraft would then perform a wingover
A wingover (also called a wing-over-wing, crop-duster turn or box-canyon turn) is an aerobatic maneuver in which an airplane makes a steep climb, followed by a vertical flat-turn (the plane turns to its side, without rolling, similar to the way a c ...
maneuver and dive to low altitude, keeping the tail of the aircraft aimed at the target to avoid serious damage from the shock wave of the explosion.
Fleet Composite Squadron 5 ( VC-5) made the first of its three deployments from Naval Air Station Norfolk
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...
, Virginia to NAS Port Lyautey in February 1951. Due to homeport changes, VC-5's next two deployments would originate from Naval Air Station Jacksonville
Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25
Location
NAS Jack ...
, Florida followed by Naval Auxiliary Air Station Sanford, Florida.
Fleet Composite Squadron 6 (VC-6) at NAS Moffett Field
Moffett Federal Airfield , also known as Moffett Field, is a joint civil-military airport located in an unincorporated part of Santa Clara County, California, United States, between northern Mountain View and northern Sunnyvale. On November 10, ...
, California received its first Savages in late 1950 and deployed to NAS Port Lyautey in October 1951 before transferring to the Pacific Fleet in October 1952. In July 1953 it deployed a detachment of two aircraft to K-3 Air Base in Korea to act as a nuclear deterrent. VC-7
VC-7 ''Tallyhoers'' was an aircraft squadron of the United States Navy. It was located at Naval Air Station Miramar from 1964 to 1980. Its primary function was to help train aviators in attacking and shooting down enemy aircraft. VC-7 was establis ...
, VC-8, and VC-9
VC-9 (Composite Squadron Nine) was an List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons, aircraft squadron of the United States Navy. It was stationed aboard , and , both of which served part of World War II in the North Atlantic. VC-9 also served abo ...
received their AJ-1s beginning in June 1951 and all remained on the East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...
. The Navy redesignated all of its Savage-equipped composite squadrons as heavy attack squadrons (VAH) on 1 November 1955. The squadrons retained their existing numbers except for VC-8 which became VAH-11 as all East Coast squadrons were odd-numbered.
AJ tankers were used to refuel then-Marine Corps Major John Glenn's Vought F8U-1P Crusader during the Project Bullet transcontinental speed record flight in July 1957; AJ-2s from VAH-6 on the West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
and AJ-1s from VAH-11 on the East Coast. Beginning in 1957 the Douglas A3D Skywarrior
The Douglas A-3 Skywarrior is a jet-powered strategic bomber that was developed and produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was designed by Douglas on behalf of the United States Navy, which sought a carrier-capable strategic bomber. Du ...
began to replace the Savages in the VAH Squadrons. Their refueling role was continued by the formation in January 1958 of VAH-15 on East Coast and VAH-16 on the West Coast. Both squadrons were equipped with AJ-2s, but both were short-lived and disbanded early the following year.
The AJ-2P was flown by Photographic Squadron 61 (VJ-61) and Photographic Squadron 62 (VJ-62), both of which were redesignated as Heavy Photographic Squadrons, VAP-61 and VAP-62, respectively, on 2 July 1956. VJ-61 was assigned to the Pacific Fleet and VJ-62 to the Atlantic Fleet. The squadrons never deployed as complete units, but rather deployed as one to three aircraft detachments. Detachment Queen was formed by VJ-61 during the Korean War at Naval Station Sangley Point
Naval Station Sangley Point was a communication and hospital facility of the United States Navy which occupied the northern portion of the Cavite City peninsula and is surrounded by Manila Bay, approximately eight miles southwest of Manila, th ...
, in the Philippines, to fly reconnaissance missions over the People's Republic of China and North Korea. The detachment continued its missions after the war until at least June 1954. Both squadrons frequently provided photographic mapping for agencies outside the Navy like the Army Map Service
The Army Map Service (AMS) was the military cartographic agency of the United States Department of Defense from 1941 to 1968, subordinated to the United States Army Corps of Engineers. On September 1, 1968, the AMS was redesignated the U.S. Army T ...
, Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (abbreviated USC&GS), known from 1807 to 1836 as the Survey of the Coast and from 1836 until 1878 as the United States Coast Survey, was the first scientific agency of the United States Government. It ...
, and U.S. Departments of the Interior and Agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
. The AJ-2s in these squadrons were replaced by Douglas A3D-2P Skywarriors beginning in 1959, although the last month that they were reported in squadron service was January 1960. Surviving AJ-1 and AJ-2 aircraft became A-2As and A-2Bs, respectively, when the Department of Defense redesignated all U.S. military aircraft in a common series in 1962.[Swanborough and Bowers 1990, p. 517.]
Three AJ-2s were loaned to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...
as weightlessness simulators from January 1960 to September 1964. They were eventually destroyed during firefighting training. Three AJ-1s were purchased by AJ Air Tankers, Inc. in early 1960 for use as water bomber
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
s. Their turbojets were removed before the delivery flight to California, during which one aircraft crashed. The two surviving aircraft were fully modified for the role after delivery and could carry of fire retardant. They first flew missions during the 1961 fire season. Another aircraft crashed on takeoff in September 1967 when an engine failed and the sole survivor only made a few more flights before it was scrap
Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...
ped in 1968–69.
At least one other AJ-2 was purchased and used as a water bomber before it was purchased in 1970 by Avco Lycoming
Lycoming Engines is a major American manufacturer of aircraft engines. With a factory in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Lycoming produces a line of horizontally opposed, air-cooled, four, six and eight-cylinder engines including the only FAA-certi ...
for use as an engine testbed for the YF102 turbofan. The J33 turbojet had to be reinstalled and the aircraft required almost a year of maintenance before it could be flown to Avco Lycoming's home airfield at Stratford, Connecticut
Stratford is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. Stratford is in the Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was settled ...
. The YF102, too fat to fully fit in the bomb bay, was mounted on a retractable mechanism that could be lowered below the aircraft for tests. The testing was conducted from January to July 1972. Another round of testing on the commercial derivative of the F102, the ALF 502, was performed between January 1979 and December 1980. In 1984, routine maintenance discovered several loose rivets on the spar
SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...
and further examination showed that the skin was starting to separate from the spar. This damage was too uneconomical to repair so Avco Lycoming decided to donate the last surviving Savage to the National Museum of Naval Aviation
The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
Founded in 1962 and moved to its curr ...
. The AJ-2 was flown to Naval Air Station Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...
in Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...
on 9 May 1984.
Variants
;XAJ-1
:Prototype with two 2,300 hp (1,715 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2800-44 radial engines and one Allison J33
The General Electric/Allison J33 is a development of the General Electric J31, enlarged to produce significantly greater thrust, starting at and ending at with an additional low-altitude boost to with water-alcohol injection.
Development
Th ...
-A-10 turbojet; three built.
;AJ-1 (A-2A)
:Initial production version with two 2,400 hp (1,790 kW) R-2800-44W radial engines and one J33-A-10 turbojet; 55 built, survivors redesignated A-2A in 1962.[
;AJ-2 (A-2B)
:Updated production version with two 2,500 hp (1,864 kW) R-2800-48 radial engines and one J33-A-10, taller tailfin, slightly longer fuselage, increased fuel capacity; 55 built, survivors redesignated A-2B in 1962.][
;AJ-2P
:Photo-reconnaissance version of the AJ-2 with array of cameras; 30 built.
;NA-146
:Company designation for three prototypes delivered to the USN as XAJ-1.][Chorlton 2013, pp.124–129.]
;NA-155
:Development of the XAJ-1; mockup only, not built.
;NA-156
:Production variant delivered to the USN as AJ-1; 12 built.
;NA-160
:Production variant delivered to the USN as AJ-1; 28 built.
;NA-169
:Production variant delivered to the USN as AJ-1; 15 built.
;NA-175
:Photo-reconnaissance variant delivered to the USN as AJ-2P; 23 built.
;NA-183
:Photo-reconnaissance variant delivered to the USN as AJ-2P; 7 built.
;NA-184
:Improved production variant delivered to the USN as AJ-2; 55 built.
;XSSM-N-4 Taurus
:Proposed unmanned variant as a surface-to-surface missile
A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) or ground-to-ground missile (GGM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea and strike targets on land or at sea. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicle mounted devices, from fixed ins ...
. Cancelled in 1948, none built.
Operators
;
* United States Navy
** VC-5 / VAH-5 - September 1949 to September 1957[Kernahan 1990, p. 98]
** VC-6 / VAH-6 - January 1950 to January 1957[Kernahan 1990, p. 99]
** VC-7 / VAH-7 - June 1951 to February 1959
** VC-8 / VAH-11 - December 1951 to January 1958
** VC-9 / VAH-9 - April 1953 to April 1957
** VAH-15 - March 1958 to January 1959
** VAH-16 - January 1958 to January 1959[Kernahan 1990, p. 100]
** VJ-61 / VAP-61 - September 1952 to February 1960
** VJ-62 / VAP-62 - August 1952 to December 1959
**Heavy Attack Training Unit - November 1953 to March 1956
* National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Aircraft on display
Only one preserved Savage exists today:
* A-2B Savage, Bureau Number ''130418'', which is displayed at the National Naval Aviation Museum
The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
Founded in 1962 and moved to its curr ...
at Naval Air Station Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...
, Florida."A-2 Savage/130418"
''National Naval Aviation Museum.'' Retrieved: 24 June 2015.
Specifications (AJ-1)
See also
Citations
Bibliography
* Chorlton, Martyn. ''North American – Company Profile 1928–1996''. Cudham, Kent, United Kingdom: Kelsey Publishing, 2013. .
* Ginter, Steve. ''North American AJ-1 Savage'' (Naval Fighters Number 22). Simi Valley, California: Steve Ginter, 1992. .
*
*
* Johnson, E.R. ''American Attack Aircraft Since 1926''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2008. .
* Miller, Jerry. ''Nuclear Weapons and Aircraft Carriers: How the Bomb Saved Naval Aviation''. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001. .
* Parsch, Andreas.
'. Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones. Designation-Systems. Accessed 17 December 2017.
''Standard Aircraft Characteristics: AJ-1 "Savage".''
Washington, D.C.: United States Navy, 30 June 1957.
* Swanborough, Gordon and Peter M. Bowers. ''United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911''. London: Putnam, 3rd ed., 1990. .
* Wilson, Stewart. ''Combat Aircraft Since 1945''. Fyshwick, Australia: Aerospace Publications, 2000. .
External links
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