Little Rock's Talos Missile

The Talos Missile

The Navy's SAM-N-6b Talos missile (later designated RIM-8) was a long-range surface-to-air missile, and was one of the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip U.S. Navy ships. Talos employed radar beam riding technology for guidance to the vicinity of its target, and then semi-active radar homing for the terminal guidance phase.

Talos was a development of the Navy's “Bumblebee Project” begun in 1944 under the auspices of the Applied Physics Lab (APL) of the John Hopkins University. The project’s intent was to produce a ram-jet powered anti-aircraft guided missile. The Bumblebee Project also produced the Navy's Terrier (SAM-N-7 / RIM-2) and Tartar (Mk15 / RIM-24) Missiles.

The first full Talos prototype (designated XSAM-N-6) flew in October 1952, followed by the first successful target intercept later that year. Talos became fully operational aboard the U.S.S. Galveston CLG-3 in 1959, with Bendix Corporation as the prime contractor for production.

Early Talos missiles used a solid-fuel rocket booster weighing over 4000 lbs, with an approximate three second burn time, to get the missile from launcher to operational speed. A Bendix ramjet then provided sustained flight. Later boosters had a somewhat extended burn time (5 sec) and propelled the missile to over 1300 mph before the missile and booster separated.

The SAM-N-6b missile was initially equipped with a conventional high explosive (HE) warhead, and later changed over to a more lethal “continuous rod” design. The launching ship's guidance beam enabled the Talos to be guided so as to attack enemy aircraft from above. (An unpleasant surprise to pilots trained to expect SAMs from below.) Four small antennas located every 90 degrees around the nose of the missile acted as receivers for the Semi-Active Radar Homing (SARH) system. Talos missiles without these antennas were nuclear armed missiles equipped with a type W-30 nuclear warhead (2 - 5 kT yield) which, for obvious reasons, did not need a terminal phase homing. These were designated as SAM-N-6bW.

In 1961 the SAM-N-6b1 and SAM-N-6bW1 (nuclear warhead) variants of Talos became operational. These had almost double the effective range of the SAM-N-6b and SAM-N-6bW. In addition, a new continuous-rod warhead with higher lethality was added.

In that every Talos ship had to carry some nuclear missiles, (although they would probably never be used) it was determined that having separate conventional and nuclear armed missiles was impractical. In 1962 a new SAM-N-6c1 "Unified Talos" was introduced. This model provided for interchangeable warheads, a higher operational ceiling, and a new continuous-wave (CW) radar seeker for improved effectiveness against low-flying targets in the terminal homing phase. Some SAM-N-6b1 missiles were retrofitted with the new CW seeker, and redesignated as SAM-N-6b1(CW).

In 1963 all versions of Talos were redesignated as RIM-8 series. The designations were applied as follows:

Old Designation	New Designation
SAM-N-6b	RIM-8A
SAM-N-6bW	RIM-8B
SAM-N-6b1	RIM-8C
SAM-N-6bW1	RIM-8D
SAM-N-6c1	RIM-8E
SAM-N-6b1(CW)	RIM-8F

In 1966 the Talos RIM-8G with improved beam-riding guidance became operational.

RGM-8H Talos anti-radiation (HARM) missiles were designed for use against shore-based radar stations. These Talos could be fitted with seekers programmed for various radar frequencies. Flight tests were first performed in 1965. Soon after the RGM-8H was operational, it was used in combat against Vietnamese SAM radars in Vietnam by USS Chicago, USS Oklahoma City, and USS Long Beach. Wikipedia's page on the Oklahoma City states that in "1971 the Oklahoma City fired the first successful combat surface-to-surface missile shot in US Navy history, using the new Talos RIM-8H anti-radiation missile to destroy a North Vietnamese mobile air control radar van". (Various sources say that the event occurred in February.)

The last operational version of Talos was RIM-8J which entered service in 1968 with improved SARH guidance.

The Talos system was initially installed in three converted Cleveland Class light cruisers (USS Galveston CLG-3, USS Little Rock CLG-4, and USS Oklahoma City CLG-5), then in three converted Baltimore Class heavy cruisers (USS Albany CG-10, USS Chicago CG-11, and USS Columbus CG-12) as well as the nuclear-powered cruiser USS Long Beach CGN-9.

Talos missiles were stored, loaded, and launched from specifically designed guided missile launching systems (GMLS's) aboard ship. GMLS Mk 7 was used aboard USS Galveston, Little Rock, and Oklahoma City. The GMLS Mk 12 was used aboard USS Albany, Chicago, Columbus, and Long Beach. In both systems the missiles were launched from a twin-arm launcher, which was fed from behind.

The first ever "kill" of a hostile aircraft by a missile fired from a ship occurred on May 23, 1968. On that date a Talos fired from the USS Long Beach shot down a Vietnamese MiG at a range of about 65 miles. A second MiG was reportedly destroyed as it exploded among its debris. In September of that year Long Beach shot down another MiG at a range of 61 miles. On May 9, 1972 another MiG was credited to USS Chicago when her forward Talos battery scored a long-range kill. In total, four MiG kills in South-East Asia can be credited to Talos missiles.

Phase-out of the Talos missile began in 1974. On 6 November 1979 the USS Oklahoma City fired the last Talos missile launched from a ship, and when the USS Albany, the last operational ship was retired in August 1980, the Talos phase-out was complete. (USS Long Beach remained active but had her Talos system replaced with Harpoon canister launchers and Tomahawk armored box launchers in the early 1980's.)

A planned replacement for Talos, the SAM-N-8 / RIM-50 Typhon, was also canceled. Eventually General Dynamics’ RIM-67 Standard ER missile supplied the long-range air defense missile needed by the Navy. The remaining Talos missiles were converted to MQM-8G Vandal supersonic targets and successfully used to simulate anti-ship missile threats.

Talos Missile - General Specifications

Old Designation	New Designation	Warhead	Range	Initial Guidance	Terminal Guidance
SAM-N-6b	RIM-8A	HE (High Explosive)	50 nm	Beam Riding	Passive Homing
SAM-N-6bW	RIM-8B	Nuclear	50 nm	Beam Riding	None
SAM-N-6b1	RIM-8C	HE Continuous Rod	100 nm	Beam Riding	Passive Homing
SAM-N-6bW1	RIM-8D	Nuclear	100 nm	Beam Riding	None
SAM-N-6b1(CW) (Note 4)	RIM-8C	HE Continuous Rod	100 nm	Beam Riding	Passive Homing (Note 2)
SAM-N-6c1 (Note 1)	RIM-8E	Interchangeable	100 nm	Beam Riding	Passive Homing (Note 2)
Note 3	RIM-8F	Interchangeable	100 nm	Beam Riding	Passive Homing (Note 2)
"	RIM-8G	Interchangeable	100 nm	Beam Riding	Passive Homing (Note 2)
"	RGM-8H (Note 5.)	Interchangeable	100 nm	Beam Riding	Active Anti-Radar
"	RIM-8J	Interchangeable	100 nm	Beam Riding	Passive Homing (Note 2)
Note 1. Referred to as "Unified Talos" because of interchangeable Warheads.
Note 2. Significantly improved Homing System.
Note 3. "SAM" designations discontinued in 1963.
Note 4. Some SAM-N-6b1 missiles were modified to have improved Homing System. These were designated SAM-N-6b1(CW).
Note 5. "RIM" = Rocket / Interception / Ground Launched, "RGM" = Rocket / Surface Attack / Ground Launched, Mobile

Talos Missile and Booster Dimensions

Missile Length:	21 ft.
Booster Length:	11 ft.
Wingspan:	110 in.
Fin Span (Booster):	81 in.
Missile Diameter:	28 in.
Booster Diameter:	30 in.
Missile Weight:	3400 lb.
Booster Weight:	4400 lb

Talos Missile and Booster Operational Data

Speed:	Mach 2.5
Altitude Ceiling:	80000 ft.
Range RIM-8A, 8B	50 nm
Range RIM-8C thru -8J	100 nm
Missile Propulsion:	Ramjet (JP-5 Liquid Fuel)
Booster Propulsion (3 sec.):	Solid-fuel rocket
Warheads:	High Explosive (HE), Continuous-rod, or Nuclear

Talos Missile Dimensions Drawing

Talos Compared to Other U.S. Navy SAM's