Classic Aircraft Carrier Color: USS Midway Flight Ops 1950s - F2H Banshee AJ Savage Nuclear Capable

The USS Midway, launched during World War II but too late to serve, was the first of three aircraft carriers of the post-Essex Class known as the Midway Class carriers.
The Navy used USS Midway as part of its strategic nuclear weapons task. Some aircraft assigned to USS Midway had nuclear weapon delivery capability.
This great Kodachrome color movie footage shows piston-engine, jet augmented, North American AJ Savage bombers and McDonnell F2H Banshee jet fighters. One of the AJ Savage bombers lands without benefit of tailhook, rolling into the barrier and damaging a Grumman F9F parked on the front of the deck. You can see the tailhook depart the AJ as it touches down at about 02:21 into the video.
The straight deck of the Midway as seen in these movie clips was changed to angled decking for safer recovery and launching of aircraft in a major rebuild between June 1955 and September 1957, placing this footage sometime before mid-1955.
Some of the F2H Banshees in the film are painted sea blue; others feature a short-lived experiment with treated natural metal finish.
USS Midway became a popular museum attraction in San Diego, California in 2004.
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[@williamchristian8389]

I served aboard Midway from 1970 to 1972, Great Ship!!!

[@airailimages]

Always good to hear from veterans with a connection to our videos! Thanks.

[@gregkramer623]

Hi Frodo..

[@joeschenk8400]

Another great color film from the past. Thanks

[@Blovi-qd4lh]

Was in VF-151 onboard USS Midway-Maru when she was forward deployed in Japan-1980-1983…F-4J and F-4S….great ship. CO was Chuck McGrail…

[@airailimages]

Thanks for watching, and thanks for adding your history.

[@tthomason5595]

The greenish “shape” under the right inboard wing represents a Mk 7 nuclear weapon. The main landing gear struts were inflated to provide a modicum of ground clearance. The nose gear strut was always extended for a catapult launch to provide more angle of attack at the end of the catapult stroke.

[@morskojvolk]

Really appreciate the _brief_ narration at the beginning. Sets the video up nicely.

[@marchindy]

Another awesome historical film, thanks.

[@airailimages]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@marchindy]

@@airailimages I always do

[@allgood6760]

Thanks for this 👍✈️

[@airailimages]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@G_A_Z_23]

I’ve always loved the AJ-2 Savage never really talk about her though

[@captaincurd2681]

The film footage is very pleasing to my eyes.

[@tthomason5595]

The nose gear tire on the AJ was painted white so the catapult officer would know it wasn’t swiveled around backwards. Launched that way, it would jam as it went into the wheel well, preventing the nose gear from retracting completely. However, the gear would extend normally and the nose wheel would swivel to the trail position on touchdown.

[@tthomason5595]

It was only white on the right side…

[@airailimages]

Good info -- I wondered about that white color.

[@jmp.t28b99]

New footage, thanks.

[@airailimages]

More to come!

[@ChiefAUS]

You just keep on keeping us entertained and informed. Thanks for these films.

[@airailimages]

More to come!

[@TJ-USMC]

Excellent Video !!!

[@martinpennock9430]

As always, a great video. Thumbs up to all the posts! Great footage from a bygone time. Thanks again for all you do and as always God bless you and yours! 😊👍🇺🇸

[@airailimages]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@tomdemerly]

This really is excellent. Thank you for sharing.

[@airailimages]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@sloboat55]

Excellent vid, America, baby.

[@Spawn-td8bf]

Excellent color shots of the Savage, especially as they are rare. The poor Banshee's nickname did not bode well for the pilots or the aircraft in their charge, " MiG Bait " . But you have to work with what you have. Thank you for posting and God Bless, Paul from Florida.

[@hertzair1186]

Other nickname for the Banshee was “Banjo”

[@Red-rl1xx]

Great video! You get a real feel of what is was like onboard in those days.

[@airailimages]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kennysherrill6542]

The good old daz! 😄👍❤🇺🇸

[@adstaton8461]

I arrived at Yokosuka Japan in January, 1984. Midway was sitting in drydock there.

[@douglasthorp7471]

I was on the USS Midway 78 to 80 enjoyed my stay in japan.

[@model-man7802]

Great footage,dad was on Midway at the beginning and during this time.

[@airailimages]

Glad you enjoyed it. It is good to have a family connection with this history.

[@williamcooper8888]

Nuclear weapon shape under the F2H. Inert due to the blue color.

[@Blovi-qd4lh]

Jets on a straight deck carrier…varsity.

[@noriokd9628]

凄い！

[@airailimages]

ご覧いただきありがとうございます。 Goran itadaki arigatōgozaimasu.

[@michaelmappin4425]

Amazingly slow approach speeds.

[@mikeseuroandamericantrains6433]

VF-33 F-9F-6 would make this Atlantic work ups late 1953 prior to 4 January 1954 Med deployment.

[@airailimages]

Thanks for adding that.

[@ConvairDart106]

The angle deck was not done for safety reasons. It was designed to allow launch and recovery at the same time. Before this, you were either launching or retrieving, leaving the boat vulnerable.

[@airailimages]

You are certainly correct that angled decks enabled concurrent launches and recoveries, but the angled landing deck also improved safety by making it more feasible for bolters to go around without having to hit a barrier, and also possibly hit parked aircraft. Hey, thank you for watching and adding your observations.

[@ConvairDart106]

@@airailimages There were certainly safety advantages as the one that was certainly solved, was going through the barrier often knocked forward parked aircraft overboard, and many planes that did not achieve takeoff, got ran over! However, more important, was that they went from two catapults, to four. My father served during the transition years. His brother was blown off the deck of the USS Hancock, CVA19, in the 50's. He sailed on both the USS Oriskany, CVA 34, and lastly, with VAQ-32 Scorpions on USS Independence, CV62. He retired in 1977.

[@airailimages]

That's a great family history to be part of.

[@michaelmappin4425]

@@ConvairDart106 Midway had 2 catapults right up to retirement. Coral Sea had 3. Forrestal was the first to have 4.

[@michaelmappin4425]

The angled deck concept was first conceptualized by Dennis Royle Farquharson Cambell. He worked with engineer Lewis Boddington of the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough RAF Base. Boddington submitted a paper on July 4, 1945 titled, "Assisted Take Off for Future Naval Aircraft." In that article he spoke of jet aircraft needing to land at higher throttle settings. For this reason, an angled deck would be necessary for safety reasons in case of failing to engage the wire. The aircraft would then be able to stay in flight and go around. This paper was key to the US adoption of angled decks for jet operations. Source material is "Innovation in Carrier Aviation" published by the US Navy War College, Newport RI.

[@kennethcrowther2277]

Does anyone know what the soundtrack music is? Really nice jazz fusion chill. Pat Metheny maybe? I'd like to know.

[@airailimages]

The music was generated in a no-longer-available software suite from Sony called Cinescore. The software had interesting tools for establishing music genre, intensity, instruments, etc., and the computer took it from there to create the finished music.

[@lebaillidessavoies3889]

They didn’t bother painting the banshees…