RIM-8 Talos
RIM-8G Talos missile.
Type	Surface-to-air missile
Production history
Manufacturer	Bendix
Specifications
Weight	7800 lb (missile: 3400 lb, booster: 4400 lb)
Length	456 in
Diameter	28 in
Warhead	136 kg (300 lb) continuous-rod HE warhead or W-30 nuclear warhead (2 - 5 kT)
Engine	Bendix ramjet sustainer, Stage1: MK 11 solid-fueled rocket booster, Stage2: Bendix ramjet sustainer
Wingspan	2. A surface to air missile ( SAM) or ground-to-air missile ( GTAM) is a Missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy Aircraft The Bendix Corporation was an American manufacturing and engineering company which during various times in its 60 year existence made brake systems aeronautical hydraulics 80 m (110 in)
Operational range	185 km (100 nm); RIM-8A: 92 km (50 nm)
Flight ceiling	24400 m (80000 ft)
Speed	Mach 2. 5
Guidance system	semi-active radar homing

This article is about the surface-to-air missile. Semi-active radar homing, or SARH, is a common type of Missile guidance system perhaps the most common type for longer range air-to-air and Surface-to-air For other uses, see Talos (disambiguation).

The Bendix RIM-8 Talos was a long-range naval surface-to-air missile, and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. The Bendix Corporation was an American manufacturing and engineering company which during various times in its 60 year existence made brake systems aeronautical hydraulics A surface to air missile ( SAM) or ground-to-air missile ( GTAM) is a Missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy Aircraft The Talos used radar beam riding for guidance to the vicinity of its target, and semiactive radar homing (SARH) for terminal guidance. Semi-active radar homing, or SARH, is a common type of Missile guidance system perhaps the most common type for longer range air-to-air and Surface-to-air The characteristic array of four antennas surrounding the nose are the SARH receivers which functioned as a continuous wave interferometer. Thrust was provided by a solid rocket booster for initial launch and a Bendix ramjet for flight to target with the warhead doubling as the ramjet's compressor. A solid rocket or a solid-fuel rocket is a Rocket with a motor that uses solid propellants ( Fuel / Oxidizer) A ramjet, sometimes referred to as a stovepipe jet, or an athodyd, is a form of Jet engine that contains no major Moving parts.

History

The Talos was a development of the Bumblebee Project, the Navy's effort to develop a surface-to-air missile to provide an extra layer of aircraft defense. Operation Bumblebee was a top-secret experimental project to develop and test ramjet missiles conducted by the US Navy. 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 Convair RIM-2 Terrier was a two-stage medium-range naval Surface-to-air missile (SAM and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United The Talos was originally designated SAM-N-6, and was redesignated RIM-8 in 1963.

The Talos saw relatively limited use due to its large size; there were few ships that could accommodate the system. The Talos was launched from the Mk 12 twin-arm launcher, which was fed from behind by a 46-round below main deck magazine. The Talos system was installed in three converted Cleveland class light cruisers (USS Oklahoma City, Galveston, and Little Rock) which used the Mark 7 Launching System which had 14 birds in a ready-service magazine and up to 15 unmated missiles and boosters in a storage area all above main deck, the converted Baltimore class heavy cruisers Albany, Chicago, Columbus and the nuclear-powered USS Long Beach. Ships ''Cleveland'' (CL-55 ''Columbia'' (CL-56 ''Montpelier'' (CL-57 ''Denver'' (CL-58 Ship history World War II Following shakedown Oklahoma City transited the Panama Canal and reported to Commander Cruisers Pacific Fleet 1958-1960 Refit as a ''Galveston'' -class guided missile light cruiser, the warship departed Philadelphia on June 30 1958 for History After shakedown off Cuba and training along the Atlantic coast Little Rock departed Newport R Ships Baltimore -class cruiser ''Baltimore'' ''Boston'' ''Canberra'' Guided Missile Cruiser Conversion On 30 June 1958, Albany was placed out of commission at the Boston Naval Shipyard to begin conversion World War II Chicago spent her first six weeks preparing for sea duty before departing on 26 February for Norfolk History As CA-74 1944-11-30 &ndash 1959-05-08 Joining the Pacific Fleet, Columbus reached Tsingtao, China Configuration The ship was designed as an "all-missile" ship from the very beginning but was fitted with two 5"/38 caliber gun mounts amidships at

The initial SAM-N-6b/RIM-8A had an effective range of about 50nm, and a conventional warhead. Typically a warhead is the Explosive material and Detonator that is delivered by a Missile, Rocket, or Torpedo. 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 were omitted. A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. The SAM-N-6b1/RIM-8C was introduced in 1960 and had nearly double the range, and a more lethal conventional 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 warhead variants. The RIM-8E also carried an improved continuous-wave terminal homing seeker, and had a higher ceiling. Some RIM-8Cs were retrofitted with the new seeker, and designated RIM-8F. The RIM-8G and RIM-8J had further radar homing improvements. 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. The surface-to-air versions also saw action in Vietnam, a total of three MiGs being shot down by Chicago and Long Beach. JSC "RSK "MiG" or Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG in full (formerly Mikoyan or Mikoyan-i-Gurevich Design Bureau, Микоян The Talos missile also had surface-to-surface capabilities. A surface-to-surface missile (also ground-to-ground missile, SSM or GTGM) is a guided projectile launched from a hand-held vehicle mounted trailer mounted

Fate

The Talos was slowly phased out of service because ships with the Mk 12 launcher were retired. The last Talos-equipped ship other than Long Beach was retired in 1979, and Long Beach had her Talos launcher replaced with an Armored Box Launcher in the early 1980s. The Armored Box Launcher ( ABL) is a four-round protected launch container for the BGM-109 Tomahawk Cruise Missile

The missiles remaining in the Navy inventory were converted to a high tech supersonic target missile, the MQM-8G Vandal. The inventory was exhausted ca. 2005.

Gallery

Talos missile guidance radars, AN/SPG-49.

Unfinned Talos missiles on USS Columbus (CG-12), November 1962. History As CA-74 1944-11-30 &ndash 1959-05-08 Joining the Pacific Fleet, Columbus reached Tsingtao, China

Talos missile launched by USS Oklahoma City (CLG-5) in 1979, claimed to be one of the last fired by a commissioned US Navy warship. Ship history World War II Following shakedown Oklahoma City transited the Panama Canal and reported to Commander Cruisers Pacific Fleet

See also

• RIM-2 Terrier
• RIM-24 Tartar

External links

• Designation systems.net - RIM-8 Talos
• Talos Missile Handling, Cruiser Installation Film