The Baltimore Class heavy cruisers were a further development of the pre-war USS Wichita, however, since the treaty limitations had lapsed, there was no restrictions on maximum displacement. A number of the class only went into service after the war. One of these was USS Los Angeles CA-135, which entered service in October 1945. Decommissioned in 1948, she was brought out of mothballs for the Korean War. She received light damage from a North Korean shore battery in March 1953. In the mid 1950s, Los Angeles was one of the class equipped with the Regulus I. The grandfather of all cruise missiles, the subsonic Regulus could carry a nuclear warhead but the system did not last long. With the development of the Polaris SLSBM, the Regulus clearly was no longer needed and by 1960 it was removed. Launched from a ramp off set to port, three Regulus missiles could be carried in the hangar. 

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Chris Daley of 1250 Models entered into a joint venture with Neptun to develop the Regulus equipped Baltimore class heavy cruiser. Chris did the research and Neptun produced the model. Chris has the Los Angeles CA135 through his 1250Ships.com, while Neptun has the same model marketed as USS Helena CA-75. The difference between the two is the color of the Regulus. The Los Angeles has the Regulus painted in test orange, while the Helena has the Regulus in war-shot blue.  

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The 1250 Models USS Los Angeles TF004, Regulus equipped heavy cruiser, is available directly from Chris at 1250Ships.com.

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