Note that when the C-130 landed on Forrestal, it was the only airplane on the flight deck!
I suppose, theoretically, that if there were no airplanes on the flight deck aft of the island, one could land a large airplane on the deck of a WW II Esse Class fleet carrier — later referred to as “27 Charlies”. Remember, they were straight deck carriers; the angled deck did not come into use until well after WW II was over.
HST, this is an interesting exercise, and I hope you can run the rumor to ground. If you can, it will make for an interesting story.
The other obvious problem with USAF bombers on a carrier is lack of folding wings, and inability to take them below..
Sounds like they just wanted to see if it could be done..and then forgot about it..
I have NO idea why I’m having trouble posting li nks from YouTube..but just came across another gem..It’s a 7 minute vid of the A-5 Vigilante..doing carrier take offs and landings..we were discussing the Viggie a few days ago..just type “A-5 Vigilante” rare videos in YouTube search..