Some e-mail from former FTM's, about Talos
Very nice web page, I enjoyed both the Talos and the Little Rock. I live
near Buffalo NY where the Little Rock now resides and I spent 4 + years
on Chicago from 9/69 to 12/73.
At the time Chicago shot down the Mig(s) I was operating FC radar #7 and
saw the missile intercept on the radar scope. There were 4 aircraft and
when the 1st missile intercepted the aircraft all returns from the other
3 migs went away. No indication of the, leaving, etc. there were 2
missiles fired, the first using FC system #2 and the 2nd using FC system
#8.
Long Beach also shot down a Mig with Talos, I believe in the late 60s
and Oklahoma City also may have, but I'm not too sure on that, but Long
Beach definitely did.. Talos was secretly reclassified as an offensive
weapon permitting its use without the ship being under attack.
Again, thanks for the wonderful WEB page and all the enjoyment and
memories it brings,
Klaus Wilkens
USS Chicago 1969 - 1973
Paul,
I was a Little Rock sailor Jan. 1971 - July
1975. I was a Fire Control Missile Tech assigned to FM division and
worked on the Mark 111 Mod. 0 Missile Fire Control Computer for the duration
of my tour. ( It was an old analog beast designed in the 1950's by Sperry-Rand
) I am now a member of the Little Rock Association and attended the
reunion in Little Rock, Ark. a few years ago.
I stumbled across your site and was very impressed
with what you have put together. I thought I would add some information
for the actual "combat" firings of the Talos missile.
Here's the story.
While attending the Fire Control Technician Class
"A" school at Mare Island Naval Schools Command in California, the
U.S.S. Long Beach came to the Mare Island shipyard for a major overhaul.
This was late 1969. Shortly after she arrived I and a few of my
classmates decided to go over and see if we could visit the ship and talk to
some FTMs. We asked for the duty FT at the quarterdeck and after a while
a FTM1 came up and agreed to give us a tour of the Fire Control spaces.
( I don't remember his name, but he went out of his way to do this )
While touring the missile fire control spaces we saw two red stars painted on
some of the equipment cabinets and asked why they were there. The story
we were told by several crewmembers was that while cruising off the coast of
North Vietnam on her last deployment, she had fired numerous times at Migs
that were flying inland near a mountain range. As soon as the missiles
were picked up by North Vietnamese radar the planes would dive behind the
mountain range and radar lock on the SPG-49 radar ( the Rock had the same
radar ) would be lost. The missiles would then have to be detonated by
the personnel on board since the target could no longer be tracked.
However, on two occasions planes were hit by the Long Beach's Talos.
This was "Top Secret" and not to be let out. To celebrate the
hits, the two capstans up forward each had a red star painted on top of
it. I saw those red stars myself when we toured the ship.
Whether or not the story can be proven I am
not sure. Like most sailors they probably stretched the truth
somewhat. BUT, the FTM's onboard that we talked to all seemed very proud
of their system and what they had accomplished by downing two Migs. If
any of the crewmembers on that cruise were to see your site or a similar site,
maybe they would come forward with the facts.
Keep up the good work!!
Smooth sailing!!
Kyle Fitzwater
Paul,
I saw your article on the Talos missile, the following is from your article:
I found one reference that indicated that TALOS was also used surface to
surface as a anti-fire control radar weapon by the OKLAHOMA CITY,
CHICAGO, and perhaps the LONG BEACH.
I recently found collaborating info should you want to use it at
http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/cruisers/cl91.txt. Near the end you will
find:
[CHICAGO (CG-11), LONG BEACH (CGN-9) and OKLAHOMA CITY
fired their Talos anti-radar missiles (RGM-8H) against North
Vietnamese radar sites, but little information has been
released about these engagements.
I served on the Chicago from 64-66 and was in the forward Talos system.
Also served on the Galveston in 63-64 and again in 66 as a part of the
Talos system. I was an FTM-2 when I got out and had worked on the
guidance and tracking radars for the Talos system.
O. J.(Jim) Franklin