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#1492

North American AJ Savage

🇺🇸 United States ·first flew 1948· medium bomber

🎖️ military 3× jet retired
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. AJ-1 in flight over California 1950: U.S. Navy· Public domain
  2. 2. AJ-1 Savage at NAS Patuxent River in October 1949: AFAN R.L. Houch, U.S. Navy· Public domain
  3. 3. AJ-2 Savage refueling F8U-1 VX-3: U.S. Navy· Public domain
  4. 4. AJ-2 Savage test bed for Lycoming engines in flight: U.S. Navy· Public domain
  5. 5. North American AJ-1 Savage aboard USS Oriskany (CVA-34), 29 August 1952 (80-G-K-13048): W.M. Cox, U.S. Navy· Public domain
  6. 6. North American AJ-2 Savage (BuNo 134069) used for microgravity experiments: Unknown author Unknown author or not provided· Public domain
  7. 7. 1953 North American AJ-2 Savage BuNo 130418 (National Naval Aviation Museum) (8755253099): Tomás Del Coro from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA· CC BY-SA 2.0
  8. 8. 1953 North American AJ-2 Savage BuNo 130418 (National Naval Aviation Museum) (8756563620): Tomás Del Coro from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA· CC BY-SA 2.0
  9. 9. AJ Savage launch USS Saratoga 1956: U.S. Navy· Public domain
  10. 10. AJ Savage launching from USS Midway (CVA-41) 1955: U.S. Navy· Public domain
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
North American AJ Savage, photo 1 of 10
1/10 U.S. Navy· Public domain

what is it?

The North American AJ Savage (later A-2 Savage) was 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.

How to recognise it: 3 jet engines · 21.8 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 758 km/htop speed
  • size 23.1 tmax take-off weight
  • built 143made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

  • First flew 78 years ago, in 1948.
  • Top speed is 5.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 21.8 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 4 African elephants (~6 t each).
  • Can fly 1.4× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight
1948-07-03
introduced
1950
retired
1962
status
retired
number built
143
role
medium bomber
origin
🇺🇸 United States
makers
North American Aviation
engines
3× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-44W Double Wasp / Allison J33-A-10 / J33 / R-2800 Double Wasp
crew
3
length
19.2 m
wingspan
21.8 m
height
6.3 m
max take-off weight
23.1 t
top speed
758 km/h
range
—
ceiling
12,436 m
wings
monoplane

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q1313485, Wikipedia: North American AJ Savage (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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