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Wertheim
Rear Admiral Robert H. Wertheim
(U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive)

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SSM-N-8 Regulus I

Naval missile history on the USS Los Angeles.
By Taira Payne
February 2022
Naval History
Volume 36, Number 1
Article
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During his early tours, Rear Admiral Robert H. Wertheim served as engineering, communications, and CIC officer on the USS Hyman (DD-732) when she was involved in American occupation forces in Japan, and in the USS Bordelon (DD-881) in operations with Task Force 77 in Far East. In 1964, Wertheim received an MS in science from MIT. Wertheim later became military assistant for strategic weapons in the Department of Defense, then Technical Director, Strategic Systems Project Office—responsible for the development of Polaris, Poseidon, and Trident missile systems. 

In this audio clip from his oral history, Rear Admiral Wertheim discusses the installation of the SSM-N-8 Regulus I missile on the USS Los Angeles (CA-135).

SSM-N-8 Regulus I missile
The U.S. Navy heavy cruiser USS Los Angeles (CA-135) firing a SSM-N-8 Regulus I missile, on 7 August 1957. (U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive)

U.S. Naval Institute · 1981 Interview with RADM Robert H. Wertheim, USN (Ret.) About the Regulus Missile

For Rear Admiral Robert H. Wertheim's Oral History on the U.S. Naval Institute website, click here.

To read more about the Naval Institute Oral History Program, click here.

By Taira Payne

Taira Payne was the Project Manager, Digital Assets & Web for the U.S. Naval Institute until January 2022. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science, specializing in Archives and Digital Curation, from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor’s in History from Washington College.

More Stories From This Author View Biography

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