RIM-8 Talos Missile
White Sands Missile Range Museum
Three Navy fleet air defense missiles - Talos, Terrier and Tartar (the 3Ts) - resulted from work begun under the Bumblebee Program started in 1945 to develop a supersonic, radar guided, ramjet propelled missile, launched by a solid propellant booster rocket.
Named for a Greek demigod who protected the island of Crete, Talos was designed for long-range fleet protection and required deployment aboard large cruiser platforms.
Of the 3Ts, only Talos employed a liquid fuel ramjet sustainer engine that required a booster to develop the necessary speed for the ramjet to function. Initially, Talos used beam-rider guidance, but soon added semi-active homing for all but nuclear warhead equipped versions.
Semi-active homing is achieved by use of interferometer antennas mounted on the cowl at the front of the missile (any Talos without the characteristic four nose antennas is either a nuclear or test round).
The initial range capability of Talos was 10 nautical miles, which eventually was increased to 130 nautical miles. Talos evolved into a versatile weapon with both semi-active homing, anti-radiation, broad electronic counter-counter measures and anti-ship capability.
Talos testing began at China Lake, CA, but was soon moved to White Sands Proving Ground with the first firing on 10 July 1951. With construction of the Desert Ship at LC-35 in 1954 and its Deckhouse duplicating a ship's missile handling and launching facilities, testing of Talos continued until 1972 when the last tactical missile was fired on 12 December. From the commissioning of USS Galveston in May 1958 to the decommissioning of USS Oklahoma City in September 1980, Talos missiles protected the fleet for 22 years. Even after Talos missiles were retired from the fleet, they continued to fly as both Low Altitude Supersonic Targets (LAST) and as Vandal targets.
Talos holds the record for the most firings of any missile at WSMR: 528 between 1951 and 1973
Characteristics
Length 32 ft.
Diameter 30 in.
Wingspan 110 in.
Tailspan 82 in.
Weight (w/o Booster) 3600 lb
Weight (with booster) 7720 lb
Ceiling 70,000 ft
Range 130 nautical miles
Velocity Mach 2.5
First fired 1951
RIM-8 Talos Missile
White Sands Missile Range Museum
Three Navy fleet air defense missiles - Talos, Terrier and Tartar (the 3Ts) - resulted from work begun under the Bumblebee Program started in 1945 to develop a supersonic, radar guided, ramjet propelled missile, launched by a solid propellant booster rocket.
Named for a Greek demigod who protected the island of Crete, Talos was designed for long-range fleet protection and required deployment aboard large cruiser platforms.
Of the 3Ts, only Talos employed a liquid fuel ramjet sustainer engine that required a booster to develop the necessary speed for the ramjet to function. Initially, Talos used beam-rider guidance, but soon added semi-active homing for all but nuclear warhead equipped versions.
Semi-active homing is achieved by use of interferometer antennas mounted on the cowl at the front of the missile (any Talos without the characteristic four nose antennas is either a nuclear or test round).
The initial range capability of Talos was 10 nautical miles, which eventually was increased to 130 nautical miles. Talos evolved into a versatile weapon with both semi-active homing, anti-radiation, broad electronic counter-counter measures and anti-ship capability.
Talos testing began at China Lake, CA, but was soon moved to White Sands Proving Ground with the first firing on 10 July 1951. With construction of the Desert Ship at LC-35 in 1954 and its Deckhouse duplicating a ship's missile handling and launching facilities, testing of Talos continued until 1972 when the last tactical missile was fired on 12 December. From the commissioning of USS Galveston in May 1958 to the decommissioning of USS Oklahoma City in September 1980, Talos missiles protected the fleet for 22 years. Even after Talos missiles were retired from the fleet, they continued to fly as both Low Altitude Supersonic Targets (LAST) and as Vandal targets.
Talos holds the record for the most firings of any missile at WSMR: 528 between 1951 and 1973
Characteristics
Length 32 ft.
Diameter 30 in.
Wingspan 110 in.
Tailspan 82 in.
Weight (w/o Booster) 3600 lb
Weight (with booster) 7720 lb
Ceiling 70,000 ft
Range 130 nautical miles
Velocity Mach 2.5
First fired 1951