SAM-N-6b Production missiles deployed with conventional explosive warheads re-designated RIM-8A. SAM-N-6a Development and prototype missiles pre-1962 US Navy designation of the Talos missile. Variants SAM-N-6 Development and prototype missiles pre-1962 US Navy designation of the Talos missile. It was also the first combat surface-to-surface missile shot in US Navy history. Oklahoma City fired the first successful RIM-8H combat shot in US Navy history in early 1972. 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 RIM-8H Talos-ARM was a dedicated anti-radar homing missile for use against shore-based radar stations. The Talos missile also had surface-to-surface capabilities. On Chicago 's forward Talos battery scored a long-range kill on a MiG. In September 1968 Long Beach scored another MiG destroyed at a range of 61 miles. The hit also destroyed a second MiG which flew through the debris. This was the first downing of a hostile aircraft by a missile fired from a ship. On May 23, 1968, a Talos fired from USS Long Beach shot down a Vietnamese MiG at a range of about 65 miles. The surface-to-air versions also saw action in Vietnam, a total of four MiGs being shot down by Chicago and Long Beach. The RIM-8G and RIM-8J had further radar homing improvements and a new fuel that extended the range to 130 nm. Some RIM-8Cs were retrofitted with the new seeker, and designated RIM-8F. The RIM-8E also carried an improved continuous-wave terminal homing seeker, and had a higher ceiling reach-out. 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-8D was the nuclear-warhead version of the -8C. The SAM-N-6b1/RIM-8C was introduced in 1960 and had double the range, and a more effective conventional continuous-rod 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 initial SAM-N-6b/RIM-8A had an effective range of about 50 nm, and a conventional warhead. 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. 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. The 9.9-meter-long, 3½-tonne missile was comparable in size to a small fighter aircraft. The Talos saw relatively limited use due to its large size and dual radar antenna system there were few ships that could accommodate the large missiles with the AN/SPW-2 missile guidance radar and the AN/SPG-49 target illumination and tracking radar. The first production versions of the missile cost about $155,000 in 1955 ($1,443,674.16 in 2020 dollars), however the price would drop as Bendix increased production. Louis final assembly was by Bendix Missile Systems in Mishawaka, Indiana. The airframe structure was manufactured by McDonnell Aircraft in St. The Talos was originally designated SAM-N-6, and was redesignated RIM-8 in 1963. 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. 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.