My days as a Naval Aviator ended in 1954. Carrier approaches were
made quite differently from today's. We dragged around the base leg
just above the altitude of the deck at whatever power it took to
maintain airspeed just above a stall, and chopped the power when (if)
we we got a cut.

"Got a cut" means you were hooked by the cable?

No, it means the Landing Signal Officer waved his paddle across his
throat, telling the pilot to chop the throttle for landing.

If you didn't get hooked, what did you do, given that you were already
just above a stall?

If an a/c missed all the arresting cables, it was stopped by the
"barrier"-- a large net stretched across the deck-- to keep it from
running into planes that already landed.

Today, approaches are "straight in," a lot like a VASI or ILS
approach. Power is not "full," it is whatever it takes to stay on
glide slope and correct airspeed.

When the wheels hit the deck, THEN full power is added for a possible
go-round.

Sounds stressful.

I've also read that fighter pilots are more stressed by carrier
landings than by flying in combat. And they say that a carrier deck
is more dangerous than a combat zone.

I've read that.

vince norris