Operation Bumblebee

A major reason for the Bumblebee efforts was the need to engage bombers before they could launch standoff anti-shipping weapons, as these aircraft might never enter the range of the shipboard guns.

[3] Initial performance goals were target intercept at a horizontal range of 10 miles[clarification needed] and 30,000 ft (9,100 m) altitude, with a 300 to 600 lb (140 to 270 kg) warhead for a 30 to 60 percent kill probability.

This led to a second concept, the SAM-N-2 Lark, a subsonic missile intended to provide a middle layer of defense between the long-range combat air patrols and short-range anti-aircraft artillery.

[6] In addition to initial tests at the Island Beach, New Jersey, and Fort Miles, Delaware, temporary sites,[7] Camp Davis, North Carolina, was used for Operation Bumblebee from 1 June 1946 to 28 July 1948.

Testing was transferred to Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and then to White Sands Missile Range in 1951, where USS Desert Ship (LLS-1) was built as a prototype Talos launch facility.