‘The fighter jet jocks got with us and came up with this slant, on an age-old tradition, of releasing a greased pig, onto the deck of the relieving ship. Three pigs painted with Red, White, and Blue food coloring and lathered in grease,’ Brian Michaels, former Aircrewman/SAR Swimmer with HS-11 helo squadron.
Dating back to the early 60s, a prank played by US Navy carriers in the Mediterranean was to surprise their relieving carrier by releasing greased pigs on the flight deck.
This 1986 video is of a helicopter from USS America dropping off pigs on USS John F. Kennedy, as Brian Michaels, who filmed the video, explains in the clip description:
‘This was filmed in 1986 while I was stationed aboard the USS America CV-66. I was an Aircrewman/SAR Swimmer with the HS-11 helo squadron. We were at the end of a 6-month deployment to the Indian Ocean/Mediterranean Sea. We were being relieved by the USS Kennedy. The fighter jet jocks got with us and came up with this slant, on an age-old tradition, of releasing a greased pig, onto the deck of the relieving ship. Three pigs were painted with Red, White, and Blue food coloring and lathered in grease. The Kennedy never saw it coming! LOL.’