Reply to thread

Talos was not stored assembled.  The diameter of the missile with wings installed increased substantially and would take up too much magazine space.  The missiles were stored wingless and those had to be manually assembled onto the missile before launch.  The other pre-launch requirement--in an age of tube technology--was a check of the electronics to make sure everything was working as tubes tended to have lower reliability.  The fuel was in a bladder around the body of the missile so that isn't a problem.