Talos was the end product of
Operation Bumblebee, the Navy's 16-year surface-to-air missile development program for protection against guided
anti-ship missiles like
Henschel Hs 293 glide bombs,
Fritz X, and
kamikaze aircraft. The Talos was the primary effort behind the Bumblebee project but was not the first missile the program developed; the
RIM-2 Terrier was the first to enter service. The Talos was originally designated SAM-N-6 and was redesignated RIM-8 in 1963. The airframe was manufactured by
McDonnell Aircraft in
St. Louis; final assembly was by Bendix Missile Systems in
Mishawaka, Indiana. The first production versions of the missile cost about $155,000 in 1955 ($1,793,335 in 2022 dollars); however, the price would drop as Bendix increased production. 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. The surface-to-air versions also saw action in Vietnam, with a total of four
MiGs being shot down by USS
Chicago and
Long Beach. On May 23, 1968, a Talos fired from
Long Beach shot down a Vietnamese MiG at a range of about 65 miles. This was the first downing of a hostile aircraft by a missile fired from a ship. The hit also destroyed a second MiG which flew through the debris. In September 1968,
Long Beach scored another MiG destroyed at a range of 61 miles. On May 9, 1972,
Chicagos forward Talos battery scored a long-range kill on a MiG. The Talos missile also had
surface-to-surface capabilities. The RGM-8H Talos-ARM was a dedicated anti-radar homing missile for use against shore-based radar stations. Initial testing of the RGM-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 RGM-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. ==Specific installations==