Oral History Interview with Malone Farrar Page: 2

                                
Oral History of Malone Farrar: U.S. Navy ACORN 8

My name is Malone Farrar. I am an ADC, USN (Retired). My address is 9010 Hendon Lane,
Houston, Texas 77036.
I enlisted in the Navy January 4"', 1940 at Houston, Texas. I went to boot camp in San Diego.
After boot camp, I was transferred to VP-12, which was a PBY-3 Catalina Squadron right across
the bay at NAS North Island. This was a peacetime Navy-only 70,000 men were the entire
Navy, and apprenticed seamen made $21 a month. In VP-12, I was in the beach crew removing
wheels from the planes and attaching them so they could be handled on the ramps.
In June 1940, I was transferred to VP-13 Squadron waiting delivery of new PB2Y3s four engine
Coronado flying boats from Convair just across the Bay. While we were waiting, I was sent to
the firing range on San Clemente Island for two weeks of gunnery practice with a 1903
Springfield rifle and 45 caliber pistol. Later on. I was sent to machine gun school on the 30
caliber machine gun. I also was on a target repair party for the USS Memphis which was the
flagship of Patrol Wing One. A tug pulled a large solid timber raft which had 12 x 16 targets
hanging on masts, and the Memphis came up alongside and fired their 6 inch guns. After each
firing run, we changed targets. The raft had only six inches of free board in calm water and so
some times the waves could come over the raft three feet deep. You had to hang on or you
would go overboard. We finally got our first PB2Y3 Coronado, and we were running tests on it
when I got my orders for transfer. I had just been rated Aviation Machinist Mate Third Class.
My orders were for Aviation Advanced Base Able in Norfolk, Virginia. We were supposed to go
to Londonderry, Ireland to set up a patrol plane base to help the British patrol for subs in the
Atlantic. I was assigned TAD to VP-55, a PBM1 Mariner Squadron and sent to flight engineer's

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