RIM-8 Talos
RIM-8 Talos | |
---|---|
kN | |
Operational range | RIM-8J 241 km (130 nm); RIM-8A: 92 km (50 nm) |
Flight ceiling | 24,400 m (80,100 ft) |
Maximum speed | Mach 3 |
Guidance system | Radar beam riding and (non-nuclear variants) semi-active radar homing |
Launch platform | Surface ship |
History
Talos was the end product of
The Talos saw relatively limited use due to its large size and dual radar antenna system; few ships could accommodate the large missiles with the AN/SPW-2 missile guidance radar and the AN/SPG-49 target illumination and tracking radar.[3] The 9.9-meter-long, 3½-ton missile was comparable in size to a small fighter aircraft.[4] The Talos Mark 7 Guided Missile Launching System (GMLS) was installed in three Galveston-class cruisers (converted Cleveland-class light cruisers) with 16 missiles in a ready-service magazine and up to 30 missiles and boosters in a storage area above the main deck. Nuclear-powered USS Long Beach and three Albany-class cruisers (converted Baltimore-class heavy cruisers) carried Mark 12 Guided Missile Launching Systems fed from a 52-round magazine below the main deck.[5]
The initial SAM-N-6b/RIM-8A had an effective range of about 50 nmi and a conventional warhead. The SAM-N-6bW/RIM-8B was a RIM-8A with a nuclear warhead; terminal guidance was judged unnecessary for a nuclear warhead, so the SARH antenna was omitted. The SAM-N-6b1/RIM-8C was introduced in 1960 and had double the range and a more effective conventional continuous-rod warhead. The RIM-8D was the nuclear-warhead version of the -8C. The SAM-N-6c/RIM-8E "Unified Talos" had a warhead that could be swapped while embarked, eliminating the need to waste magazine capacity carrying dedicated nuclear-tipped variants. The RIM-8E also carried an improved continuous-wave terminal homing seeker and had a higher ceiling reach-out. Some RIM-8Cs were retrofitted with the new seeker and designated RIM-8F. The RIM-8G and RIM-8J had further radar homing improvements and a new fuel that extended the range to 130 nm.[6]
The surface-to-air versions also saw action in Vietnam, with a total of four
The RIM-8H Talos-ARM was a dedicated anti-radar homing missile for use against shore-based radar stations. Initial testing of the RIM-8H was performed in 1965, and soon after, it was deployed in Vietnam on Chicago, Oklahoma City, and Long Beach, attacking North Vietnamese SAM radars. Oklahoma City fired the first successful RIM-8H combat shot in US Navy history in early 1972. It was also the first combat surface-to-surface missile shot in US Navy history.[9]
Variants
- SAM-N-6
- Development and prototype missiles; pre-1962 US Navy designation of the Talos missile.
- SAM-N-6a
- Development and prototype missiles; pre-1962 US Navy designation of the Talos missile.
- SAM-N-6b
- Production missiles deployed with conventional explosive warheads; redesignated RIM-8A.
- SAM-N-6bw
- The -6b missile with a nuclear warhead, omitting terminal guidance and SARH antennas; redesignated RIM-8B.
- SAM-N-6b1
- An improved -6b with much greater range and continuous rod conventional warhead; redesignated RIM-8C.
- SAM-N-6c
- "Unified Talos" with interchangeable nuclear/conventional warheads eliminating the need for storage of both missile types, also fitted with improved terminal homing and higher operating ceiling; redesignated RIM-8E.
- RIM-8F Talos
- Some RIM-8C missiles retrofitted with the new seeker from the RIM-8E (post-1962 only).
- RIM-8G Talos
- Variant with further homing improvements.
- RIM-8H Talos-ARM
- A dedicated surface-to-surface anti-radar homing version for deployment on ships already fitted out for the Talos SAM.
- RIM-8J Talos
- Variant with further homing improvements.
- MQM-8G Vandal
- Talos missiles remaining after removal from active service were converted to super-sonic drone targets, with the inventory being exhausted circa 2008.
Chronology
Date | Fleet inventory | Ship | Event |
---|---|---|---|
28 May 1958[10] | 1×Mk 7 GMLS with 2×AN/SPG-49 RADAR | Galveston[10]
|
Commissioned as CLG-3[10] |
3 June 1960[11] | 2×Mk 7 GMLS with 4×AN/SPG-49 RADAR | Little Rock[11]
|
Commissioned as CLG-4[11] |
7 September 1960[12] | 3×Mk 7 GMLS with 6×AN/SPG-49 RADAR | Oklahoma City[12]
|
Commissioned as CLG-5[12] |
9 September 1961[13] | 3×Mk 7 & 1×Mk 12 GMLS with 8×AN/SPG-49 RADAR | Long Beach[13] | Commissioned as CGN-9[13] |
3 November 1962[14] | 3×Mk 7 & 3×Mk 12 GMLS with 12×AN/SPG-49 RADAR | Albany[14] | Commissioned as CG-10[14] |
1 December 1962[15] | 3×Mk 7 & 5×Mk 12 GMLS with 16×AN/SPG-49 RADAR | Columbus | Commissioned as CG-12 |
2 May 1964[16] | 3×Mk 7 & 7×Mk 12 GMLS with 20×AN/SPG-49 RADAR | Chicago[16] | Commissioned as CG-11[16] |
25 May 1970[17] | 2×Mk 7 & 7×Mk 12 GMLS with 18×AN/SPG-49 RADAR | Galveston | Decommissioned |
31 January 1975[15] | 2×Mk 7 & 5×Mk 12 GMLS with 14×AN/SPG-49 RADAR | Columbus | Decommissioned |
22 November 1976[18] | 1×Mk 7 & 5×Mk 12 GMLS with 12×AN/SPG-49 RADAR | Little Rock | Decommissioned[11] |
1978 | 1×Mk 7 & 4×Mk 12 GMLS with 10×AN/SPG-49 RADAR | Long Beach | Talos system removed |
1 November 1979 | 4×Mk 12 GMLS with 8×AN/SPG-49 RADAR | Oklahoma City | Last Talos fired |
15 December 1979 | 4×Mk 12 GMLS with 8×AN/SPG-49 RADAR | Oklahoma City | Decommissioned |
1 March 1980[16] | 2×Mk 12 GMLS with 4×AN/SPG-49 RADAR | Chicago[16] | Decommissioned[16] |
29 August 1980[14] | Albany[14] | Decommissioned[14] |
Fate
Long Beach had her Talos launcher removed in 1978. Talos was phased out of fleet service with the decommissioning of
Two Talos missiles are on display at the Military Honor Park located near the entrance of the South Bend International Airport in South Bend, Indiana.
A Talos missile was displayed in the atrium of the
Another example can be seen at the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum, located at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
A Talos Missile can also be seen on display at the Muskogee War Memorial Park located in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
A Talos missile is on display at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown in Yorktown, Virginia.
A Talos missile is on display at The US Navy's Guided Missile School at Dam Neck, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, just outside of the main building of the NAVGMSCOL.
Two Talos missiles are on display, in launch position, on the stern of
A Talos missile and booster were on display at Rita Blanca Park (home of the XIT Rodeo & Reunion) in Dalhart, Texas, at least from 1981 or earlier, but as of 2017 had been removed.
A Talos missile is on display in the
A Talos missile is on outdoor display in front of the Missiles and More Museum on Topsail Island, NC. Notably, this location is also the birthplace of the RIM-8 Talos missile, having been a result of the research effort on ramjets and surface-to-air missiles which took place on Topsail Island from 1946 to 1948, as part of Operation Bumblebee.[20]
Gallery
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Talos missile launcher on USS Long Beach, July 1961
-
Talos missile guidance radars, AN/SPG-49.
-
RIM-8A and -8B missile launch.
-
A Talos shortly before hitting a B-17 target drone in 1957.
-
USS Little Rockfires a Talos, 4 May 1961.
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Talos missiles on USS Little Rock, November 1960.
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MQM-8G Vandal launch from San Nicolas Island, in 1999.
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RIM-8 Talos missile loading conveyor aboard USS Little Rock.
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RIM-8 Talos magazine racks in USS Little Rock
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RIM-8 Talos display, Patriots Point Naval Museum, Charleston South Carolina
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A Bendix RIM-8 Talos on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA
See also
Notes
- ^ "A Brief History of White Sands Proving Ground 1941-1965" (PDF). New Mexico State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-28. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
- ^ "RIM-8 Talos". Global Security. Global Security. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- ^ Polmar, Norman (December 1978). "The U.S.Navy: Shipboard Radars". United States Naval Institute Proceedings.
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: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - MiG-15 jetfighter was 10.1 meters long and weighed 5 tons.
- ^ Naval Training Command (1972). Gunners Mate M 1&C (NAVTRA 10200-B ed.). US Government Printing Office.
- ISSN 0270-5214.
- ^ "USS LITTLE ROCK CLG 4 / CG 4 TALOS MISSILE & MISSILE SIGHTINGS".
- ^ "USS Oklahoma City - Talos Missile Firing Operations". Retrieved 2014-05-23.
- ^ Hays, Phillip R. "Details of the First Talos RGM-8H Anti Radiation Missile Combat Firing". USS Oklahoma City CL91 / CLG5 / CG5. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- ^ a b c "Galveston II (CL-93)". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Little Rock I (CL-92)". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ a b c "Oklahoma City I (CL-91)". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ a b c "Long Beach III (CG (N)‑9)". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Doehring, Thoralf. "USS Albany (CG 10)". Unofficial US Navy Site. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Welcome Aboard". USS Columbus Veterans Association. Archived from the original on 2010-11-02. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ a b c d e f Yarnall, Paul L. "USS CHICAGO (CA 136 / CG 11)". NavSource Online. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "Chronology - U.S.S. Galveston CL-93 / CLG-3". USS Galveston Shipmates Association. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "A Brief History of the USS Little Rock". USS Little Rock Association. Archived from the original on 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "South Bend airport's Talos missile taken to History Museum for manufacturing exhibit". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
- ^ Missiles and More Museum. (2014, January 26). Operation Bumblebee. Missiles and More Museum. https://missilesandmoremuseum.org/exhibits/operation-bumblebee/
References
- Friedman, Norman (1982). "The "3 T" Programme". Warship. VI (22–3). London: Conway Maritime Press: 158–166, 181–185. ISBN 0-87021-981-2.
- Goss, Wilbur H.; et al. (April–June 1982). "Talos in Retrospect". Johns Hopkins APL Technical Journal. 3 (2): 116–179. ISSN 0270-5214.