Typhon was a missile system developed by the United States Navy in the late 1950s, intended to serve as an integrated air-defense system for Navy fleets. Consisting of the SAM-N-8 Typhon LR , later designated RIM-50A , and the SAM-N-9 Typhon MR , later RIM-55A , paired with the AN/SPG-59 radar system, the cost of the Typhon system led to it being cancelled in favor of the Standard Missile program.
30-428: Development of Typhon was initiated in the late 1950s, as the existing Talos , Terrier , and Tartar ("3 Ts") long-, medium-, and short-ranged missiles were considered to be approaching obsolescence; in the event of a mass attack by Soviet bomber forces, the requirement for each missile to have its own dedicated target illuminator would lead to rapid saturation of the defensive system. The Typhon system, developed under
60-520: A US Navy contest and eventually built the successful FH-1 Phantom in the postwar era. The Phantom introduced McDonnell's telltale design with engines placed forward under the fuselage and exiting just behind the wing, a layout that was used successfully on the F2H Banshee , F3H Demon , and the F-101 Voodoo . David S. Lewis joined the company as Chief of Aerodynamics in 1946. He led the development of
90-405: A small aircraft for family use. The economic depression from 1929 ruined his plans and the company collapsed. He went to work for Glenn L. Martin . He left in 1938 to try again with his own firm, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, based at St. Louis, Missouri in 1939. World War II was a major boost to the new company. It grew from 15 employees in 1939 to 5,000 at the end of the war and became
120-489: A 52-round magazine below the main deck. 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
150-511: A Bendix ramjet powered its flight to the target, with the warhead serving as the ramjet's compressor. 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
180-510: A contract awarded to the Bendix Corporation , would overcome this through the use of the AN/SPG-59 electronically scanned array radar system, capable of tracking and engaging multiple targets simultaneously. The missile system to complement the radar was originally named Super Talos (long-range) and Super Tartar (short-range), but to avoid confusion with upgrades for the existing missiles
210-450: 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
240-411: 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, Chicago ' s 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
270-617: A significant aircraft parts producer, and developed the XP-67 Bat fighter prototype. McDonnell also developed the LBD-1 Gargoyle guided missile . McDonnell Aircraft suffered after the war with an end of government orders and a surplus of aircraft, and heavily cut its workforce. The advent of the Korean War helped push McDonnell into a major military fighter supply role. In 1943, McDonnell began developing jets when they were invited to bid in
300-753: Is on display in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at the Washington Dulles International Airport . 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 . McDonnell Aircraft The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
330-595: The NASA projects Mercury and Gemini . The success of the Mercury capsule led the company adopted a new logo features the capsule circling a globe with the motto "First Free Man in Space". The company was now a major employer, but was having problems. It had almost no civilian business, and was thus vulnerable to any peacetime downturn in procurement. Meanwhile, Douglas Aircraft was reeling from cash flow problems and development costs. It
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#1732877096293360-565: The surface-to-surface role, capable of targeting enemy ships, was also included in the specification. While primarily intended to be armed with a conventional high explosive warhead, Typhon LR was designed to be capable of carrying the W60 nuclear warhead . Typhon MR was designed to be capable of intercepting aircraft at between 50 feet (15 m) to 50,000 feet (15,000 m) in altitude and 3,000 yards (2,700 m) to 25 nautical miles (29 mi; 46 km) range. It had yet to enter testing before
390-729: 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 South Bend Regional Airport (historically known as Bendix Field), but was removed in 2021 to be displayed in the Manufacturing Victory exhibit at The History Museum in South Bend. After the exhibit closed, the missile did not return to
420-502: 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. Long Beach had her Talos launcher removed in 1978. Talos
450-694: The Typhon project was cancelled. In March 1961, the first test launches of the SAM-N-8 Typhon LR took place; beginning in 1962, the test ship USS Norton Sound entered refit to install the Typhon Weapon Control System to allow at-sea tests to be undertaken. However, the expense of the Typhon system, combined with the technical issues encountered during development, led to the program being cancelled in November 1963. The conversion of Norton Sound
480-765: The airport. 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
510-404: The legendary F-4 Phantom II in 1954, which was introduced into service in 1960. Lewis became Executive Vice President in 1958, and finally became President and Chief Operating Officer in 1962. McDonnell made a number of missiles, including the pioneering Gargoyle and unusual ADM-20 Quail , as well as experimenting with hypersonic flight, research that enabled them to gain a substantial share of
540-633: The main building of the NAVGMSCOL. Two Talos missiles are on display, in launch position, on the stern of USS Little Rock at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park located in Buffalo, New York . 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
570-550: The merger of McDonnell and Douglas Aircraft, David Lewis, then president of McDonnell, was named chairman of what was called the Douglas Aircraft Division. After managing the turnaround of the division, he returned to St. Louis in 1969 as president of McDonnell Douglas. McDonnell Douglas later merged with Boeing in August 1997. Boeing's defense and space division includes the part purchased from Rockwell (ROK) in 1986 and
600-541: The price would drop as Bendix increased production. 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. The 9.9-meter-long, 3½-ton missile was comparable in size to a small fighter aircraft . The Talos Mark 7 Guided Missile Launching System (GMLS)
630-519: The two firms officially merged on April 28, 1967, as the McDonnell Douglas Corporation (MDC). Soon after the merger was announced, McDonnell bought 1.5 million shares of Douglas stock to help Douglas meet "immediate financial requirements". McDonnell management dominated the merged company. It was based at McDonnell's facility in St. Louis, with James McDonnell as chairman and CEO. In 1967, with
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#1732877096293660-429: Was a long-range naval surface-to-air missile (SAM), among the earliest SAMs to equip United States Navy ships. The Talos used radar beam riding for guidance to the vicinity of its target, and semi-active radar homing (SARH) for terminal guidance. The four antennas surrounding the nose were SARH receivers, which functioned as a continuous wave interferometer . A solid rocket booster provided thrust for launch and
690-635: Was allowed to be completed to provide test data, with the ship recommissioning in June 1964; following the tests, the Typhon equipment was removed in July 1966. In lieu of Typhon, the U.S. Navy developed the Standard Missile family to provide air defense for the fleet, with the RIM-66 Standard and RIM-67 Standard ER missiles replacing Tartar and Terrier, respectively. RIM-8 Talos Bendix RIM-8 Talos
720-501: Was also having a hard time meeting demand. The two companies began sounding each other out about a merger in 1963. On paper, they were a good match. Douglas' civilian business would have been more than enough to allow McDonnell to withstand any downturns in military procurement, while the cash flow from McDonnell's military contracts would have given Douglas badly-needed security. Douglas formally accepted McDonnell's offer in December 1966, and
750-772: Was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri . The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell , and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom II , and crewed spacecraft including the Mercury capsule and Gemini capsule . McDonnell Aircraft later merged with the Douglas Aircraft Company to form McDonnell Douglas in 1967. James McDonnell founded J.S. McDonnell & Associates in Milwaukee, Wisconsin , in 1928 to produce
780-400: 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
810-538: 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,
840-527: Was phased out of fleet service with the decommissioning of USS Oklahoma City in 1979, though the Albany -class ships carrying the system soldiered on a few more years with the launchers left in place until they were retired in 1980. After 21 years of fleet service, the missile was replaced by the RIM-67 Standard missile, which was fired from the smaller Mk10 launcher. Two Talos missiles are on display at
870-460: Was soon renamed Typhon. Typhon LR, the only version of the Typhon missile system to be test-flown, was ramjet -powered and capable of intercepting high-speed aircraft and missiles. It could engage targets in the Mach 3–4 range at between 50 feet (15 m) to 95,000 feet (29,000 m) altitude and 6,000 yards (5,500 m) to 110 nautical miles (130 mi; 200 km) range. A secondary capability in
900-471: 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
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