Was the A6F/A-6A "first of its kind" with a digital bombing system? I
bombed from A3D-2/A-3B bombers, ours had the Norden electro-mechanical
analog computer with ASB-1A bombing system radar. I heard, but never
saw, that the 147xxx buno A-3B's, all delivered to Whidbey heavy attack
squadrons, had a digital ASB-7 bombing system. The ASB-1A system had a
1,200' margin of error, all who were inducted into the HATWINGONE "Bulls
Eye Club" were said to be victims of this error tolerance.
Does anyone here know of the ASB-7 systems? I don't know how long they
stayed in operation as bombers, the East coast VAH squadrons were
transitioning to the Vigilante starting 1961, the West coast A-3's seem
to have transitioned to KA-3B's and EKA-3B'shortly thereafter so this
all digital ASB-7 probably did little bombing.
Joel McEachen VAH-5

Mike Kanze wrote:
Nick, I've loaned out my copy of FOTI so I can't immediately refer to
it in trying to answer your question. Try I will, though.

First, the setting for FOTI is the later years of the VN conflict.
This is important because the A-6A was the current Intruder model at
that time. The A-6E had not yet entered fleet service and some of
the whistles and bells of the A system were eliminated or very
greatly changed in the E system - including a couple of
terrain-clearance toys that Coonts likely describes in FOTI.

Second, one must remember that the A-6A was the "first" of its kind -
the first aircraft with full integration of its various sensors into
a digital (not analog, like the Norden bombsight) computer. In this
respect it was also very much "bleeding edge." The personal computing
dictum about being especially wary of Version 1 of anything could as
well have been written by those of us in the A-6A.