From Scooter! plus subsequent information and illustrations:
The last carrier-based A-4s involved in the Vietnam War overlapped with the introduction of laser-guided bombs (LGBs). These were conventional bombs modified with a laser seeker, simple guidance computer, and controllable fins. The target was designated by a laser beam that the LGB could detect and home in on. The accuracy was outstanding, with the LGBs hitting within a few feet of the designated spot. The first laser-guided bomb drop at China Lake was made in early 1970, using a ground-based laser and a simple deviation meter in the cockpit of the A-4 carrying the bomb.
Since the Navy A-4s were in the process of being replaced, the implementation of laser designation capability was very limited. Some of the VA-164 A-4Fs deployed on Hancock with Air Wing 21 in 1973 were equipped with a Laser Spot Tracker (LST) in the nose and a Ferranti gun sight that displayed the spot being designated by a laser in another aircraft or by a person on the ground.
Via John Bittick
Six LWL units were fabricated and distributed to selected squadrons for combat evaluation, one of which was VA-164. To provide the designation capability, VA-164 borrowed two TA-4Fs configured with armor and ECM avionics from a Marine unit based at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. These were reportedly BuNos 154325 and153491.
Note that VA-164 would also have had TA-4s assigned while shore-based for instrument proficiency, etc. like BuNo 152877. While it is shown here on a carrier, it doesn't have the ECM suite:
BuNo 154622 was another TA-4 assigned to VA-164, also side number 416.
Via John Bittick
The squadron Ordnance Warrant Officer and LDO Assistant Maintenance
Officer, both non-pilots, volunteered to be trained in the operation of
the LWLs and fly in the back seat on combat missions to provide
designation of the target while the pilot in the front seat circled it.
The pilot of an accompanying single-seat A-4 dropped a laser-guided bomb on the spot.
In spite of the limitations (the 8-pound weight of the LWL precluded the TA-4F pilot from pulling any g load if the guy in back was to hold the spot steady), the trial was a success. The TA-4F would precede a small strike group by 2 miles and search for targets of opportunity, flying at an altitude of 5,000 to 7,000 feet, which was above the effective range of small arms fire. When a suitable target was spotted, the TA-4F pilot would pull up and circle it at 10,000 feet while the observer would begin to designate it. Laser designation was also useful for attacks employing non-laser-guided munitions, since the pilots flying the LST-equipped A-4s could use the laser spot in lieu of smoke rockets or geographic references to locate the target that had been found by FACs.
The successful trial proved the validity of laser designation and the LST hardware for development and adoption in the final iteration of the Skyhawk.
In spite of the limitations (the 8-pound weight of the LWL precluded the TA-4F pilot from pulling any g load if the guy in back was to hold the spot steady), the trial was a success. The TA-4F would precede a small strike group by 2 miles and search for targets of opportunity, flying at an altitude of 5,000 to 7,000 feet, which was above the effective range of small arms fire. When a suitable target was spotted, the TA-4F pilot would pull up and circle it at 10,000 feet while the observer would begin to designate it. Laser designation was also useful for attacks employing non-laser-guided munitions, since the pilots flying the LST-equipped A-4s could use the laser spot in lieu of smoke rockets or geographic references to locate the target that had been found by FACs.
The successful trial proved the validity of laser designation and the LST hardware for development and adoption in the final iteration of the Skyhawk.
