The North American AJ Savage was best known for being the first naval combat aircraft designed to carry an atomic bomb: an urgent requirement at the start of the Cold War. At the time of its introduction, it was also the largest carrier-based aircraft but such weight required the installation of an unorthodox powerplant involving a pair of Double Wasp radials complemented by an additional turbojet mounted in the rear fuselage. To augment its range, the Savage was also designed with wingtip fuel tanks. Besides its role as a bomber, the Savage was also used considerably as a photo reconnaissance platform for both day and night operations at any altitude and it was in these secondary roles that the aircraft saw most of its use; other developments even included an inflight refuelling tanker with a hose-and-reel unit. Some were still found with USN units as late as 1958.

First of three XAJ-1 prototypes took to the air on 3 July 1948 and entered service as the AJ-1. The AJ-2 was the next development and featured increased fuel capacity, new systems, and an updated version of the engine. Even before this variant entered service, there was the AJ-2P photo-reconnaissance platform with multiple cameras and photo-flash bombs. A few were still operational after 1962 upon which they were redesignated A-2A (AJ-1) and A-2B (AJ-2).