[ZOOKER]

Can anyone think of a USAF fighter which was "beefed up" for carrier service"?

F-4 Phantom?

[GMMC0987]

F-4 was a Navy fighter adopted by the Air Force.

[BwanaNdege]

“The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor aircraft/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it was also adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force, and by the mid-1960s had become a major part of their respective air wings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II