Richard Farrar was an engineer with the Talos program for 25 years, beginning with its earliest days. He went to work for Bendix in 1945, working on the Talos fuel system. He was involved in the development of the missile from the early prototypes through deployment into the fleet.

His daughter contacted me after seeing the Talos sections of the Okieboat web page, and then Richard and I began corresponding. Talking with him I realized that he had first hand knowledge about the problems during Talos development. He wrote a series of letters describing his experiences in the Talos program. His stories flesh out my accounts of Talos history and add a lot about the people, places and times in the 1940s and 1950s.

Here, in his own words, is Dick Farrar's story.

• Talos people Talos development team.
• Early Talos prototype Talos prototype development.
• Talos production Talos production missile development.
• Vietnam retrofit Retrofitting Talos missiles in the field.