Originally Posted by hval
Now you know why the Savages were at R.A.F. Hal Far.
The North American AJ Savage P2Vs could only operate from the USS Midway, USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the USS Coral Sea. They were the US Navy's first nuclear bomber.
Wrong on several points.
1. The North American AJ-1/2 Savage was a completely different aircraft from the Lockheed P2V Neptune.
2. The P2V was used temporarily aboard the 3 carriers you list, as an interim nuclear bomber pending completion of the AJ Savage development. It lacked folding wings, so had to remain on deck... and they were intended to not return to the carrier, but to land at the closest friendly land airfield to their target.
3. The AJ Savage was operated from many Essex class carriers. All that was needed was the SCB-27A modernization, which strengthened the flight deck, increased the strength of the arresting gear, and replaced the WW2-era H-4 hydraulic catapults with the same H-8s as were in the Midway class.
Here is a site with several photos of AJ Savages operating from axial-deck Essex class carriers in 1952-53 (2-3 years before they received angle decks or steam catapults).
Naval Aviation Resource Center - NORTH AMERICAN AJ-1 SAVAGE - A Warbirds Resource Group Site