The Bumblebee Program

Background

The Navy Bumblebee program was created at the end of WW-II to develop a defense against the Japanese kamikaze threat. The program was to develop a jet propelled, guided anti-aircraft missile. The result was the Navy’s 3-T Missiles – Talos, Terrier and Tartar.

While initial efforts were concentrated on developing the Talos ram-jet engine, a solid rocket propelled test vehicle to develop missile steering designs was recognized as capable of providing a simpler interim weapon for smaller ships, resulting in the Terrier two stage missile and the later single stage Tartar with solid fuel dual thrust rocket motor.

The Talos was first tested at White Sands in 1951 while Terrier and Tartar testing was relocated from China Lake CA in the early 1960s.+

Continue scrolling for more...

Declassified Documents

SemiAnnual Report of Bumblebee Project, July-December 1949 [54 Pages, 2.83MB] – The end of 1949 marks the completion of the first five years of the BUMBLEBEE program. It is gratifying to note that the objectives originally scheduled for this five-year period have come reasonably close to realization.

Survey of Bumblebee Activities, July 1952 [52 Pages, 3.25MB] – The general objective of the BUMBLEBEE project, initiated in 1945, has been the developmentof a radar-guided, ramjet-propelled, supersonic missile (Talos). Originally limited to antiaircraftapplication, BUMBLEBEE has been extended to include a long-range, ship-launched, guided bom.bardment missile (Triton) as well as a short-range, solid-rocket-propelled antiaircraft missile(Terrier). These missile objectives have been the outgrowth of a research and development programin basic fields of science related to a guided missile technology.

Follow The Black Vault on Social Media:

This post was published on February 11, 2018 8:30 pm

John Greenewald

Recent Posts

FBI Files: Civil Rights Era

Background Movements for civil rights were a worldwide series of political movements for equality before…

July 1, 2025

FBI Files: Historical Figures & Groups

Background Welcome to the FBI Files on Historical Figures & Groups archive at The Black…

June 26, 2025

Emails From Pentagon Spokesperson Uncovered on Gimbal, FLIR1, and GoFast UFO Videos

The Department of Defense has released a collection of internal emails in response to a…

June 18, 2025

Agency Cafeterias – Complaints & Menus

Background You can get quite a bit of material under the Freedom of Information Act…

June 18, 2025

DoD Releases Previously Unseen Document Detailing “NIGHT TRAIN 84” Nuclear War Exercise Scenario

The Department of Defense (DoD) has released, through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request…

June 18, 2025

TEMPS (Transportable Electromagnetic Pulse Simulator) Final Reports, 1973

The two volumes of the TEMPS (Transportable Electromagnetic Pulse Simulator) Final Report, dated August 1973…

June 8, 2025