Biggles Learns To Fly

Biggles #5

by W.E. Johns

This is the story of the very beginning - of the Air Service and of Biggles. It's the First World War and Biggles is just 17; the planes are primitive; combat tactics are non-existent; and pilots and their gunners communicate by hand signals and have no contact with the ground. This is where Biggles learns his craft and finds he has a certain aptitude for flying in battle...

Genres: Fiction, Adventure, War, Childrens, Historical Fiction, Historical, Young Adult

315 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 1935

About the author

Invariably known as Captain W.E. Johns, William Earl Johns was born in Bengeo, Hertfordshire, England. He was the son of Richard Eastman Johns, a tailor, and Elizabeth Johns (née Earl), the daughter of a master butcher. He had a younger brother, Russell Ernest Johns, who was born on 24 October 1895.

He went to Hertford Grammar School where he was no great scholar but he did develop into a crack shot with a rifle. This fired his early ambition to be a soldier. He also attended evening classes at the local art school.

In the summer of 1907 he was apprenticed to a county municipal surveyor where he remained for four years and then in 1912 he became a sanitary inspector in Swaffham, Norfolk. Soon after taking up this appointment, his father died of tuberculosis at the age of 47.

On 6 October 1914 he married Maude Penelope Hunt (1882–1961), the daughter of the Reverend John Hunt, the vicar at Little Dunham in Norfolk. The couple had one son, William Earl Carmichael Johns, who was born in March 1916.

With war looming he joined the Territorial Army as a Private in the King's Own Royal Regiment (Norfolk Yeomanry), a cavalry regiment. In August 1914 his regiment was mobilised and was in training and on home defence duties until September 1915 when they received embarkation orders for duty overseas.

He fought at Gallipoli and in the Suez Canal area and, after moving to the Machine gun Corps, he took part in the spring offensive in Salonika in April 1917. He contracted malaria and whilst in hospital he put in for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps and on 26 September 1917, he was given a temporary commission as a Second Lieutenant and posted back to England to learn to fly, which he did at No. 1 School of Aeronautics at Reading, where he was taught by a Captain Ashton.

He was posted to No. 25 Flying Training School at Thetford where he had a charmed existence, once writing off three planes in three days. He moved to Yorkshire and was then posted to France and while on a bombing raid to Mannheim his plane was shot down and he was wounded. Captured by the Germans, he later escaped before being reincarcerated where he remained until the war ended.

Reviews

[Rowan MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second Biggles book (after Biggles and Co.) and perhaps what I should’ve started with. In this one, it’s WWI and a young 17-year-old Biggles is learning to fly and prove himself in the skies over Europe.

The wartime experiences of author, W. E. Johns certainly add authenticity. I felt that he directly pulled from his own time as a pilot. I would later find this was tragically correct. The characters were intimately human and the book didn’t shy away from the realities of war, nor glamourise it as one might expect.

“He was thoroughly sick of the war; the futility of it appalled him.”

Biggles Learns to Fly is non-stop action and flying. It was also educational, as I learnt a lot about types of aircraft used in WWI (Biggles seems to fly them all) and the role of planes in that arena. The Red Baron even gets mention and I love how W. E. Johns incorporated real people and places into the story.

“He knew what Biggles himself did not know; that the German formation was the formidable Richthofen circus, led by the famous Baron himself, his conspicuous all-red Fokker triplane even then pouring lead at the lone Pup.”

The book never treads water and is endearingly old-fashioned in its language. It was impossible not to smile and laugh, especially when there were such gems like, “great jumping fish!”, “what the dickens!”, “you cock-eyed son of a coot!”, “great jumping cats!” and “you cunning hound!”

Each chapter seemed to contain more action, greater stakes and new missions. My favourite was ‘the special mission’ - filled with suspense, pigeons and dynamite, it involved Biggles dropping a spy behind enemy lines.

“A soldier may be killed, wounded, or made prisoner. But a spy’s career can only have one ending if he’s caught - the firing squad! He does not die a man’s death in the heat of battle; he is shot like a dog against a brick wall. That’s the result of failure. If he succeeds, he gets no medals, honour or glory. Silence surrounds him always.”

Biggles Learns to Fly contains perhaps one of the only descriptions of Biggles’ appearance. In a sense, this was the Biggles origin story and I enjoyed it immensely. While the ending was satisfying, it felt rather abrupt. I actually turned the page expecting it to continue. Nevertheless, I know that I’ll be reading plenty more Biggles books in future - they have become my book version of comfort food!

“He felt only a strange elation, a burning desire to go on doing this indefinitely - to down the enemy machines before he himself was killed, as he never doubted that he would be in the end.”

[Manny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not completely sure, but I think this is the one with the fatal love story. I read it when I was about 8, and I had never read a fatal love story before. It made a lasting impression on me.

So Biggles, who's in his late teens, is a dashing WW I fighter pilot in France, and one day he makes a forced landing at this little French farm. "My mag stopped," he explains to the beautiful mademoiselle who comes out to see what the biplane's doing in their orchard. "Your bag?" she asks, not quite understanding what he's talking about. But apparently it's just the phrase to win a gorgeous French chick's heart, because he's invited back. On the third or fourth visit, he kisses her. "I think my bag stopped..." she sighs. Awwww! Biggles is in lurve. He's never been so happy in his life.

Then... tragedy! He discovers that, oh no, the lovely mademoiselle is really a German spy! She only wanted top-secret information about his Sopwith Camel, which I suppose was the Stealth Bomber of its time. Biggles turns up for a rendezvous, and she's already escaping in a car together with her shady accomplice.

Foolish girl. How could a car ever outrun an airplane? Biggles pursues, his heart full of rage and grief. The shady accomplice pushes the gas pedal all the way down. And, on a sharp bend, they come off the road. He and the treacherous French chick are both instantly killed.

I saw the films much later, but in my memory this scene is inextricably linked to the beginning of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the end of On Her Majesty's Secret Service. ("All the time in the world", if you remember). They're both by Ian Fleming. Maybe he also read it? I never thought of that before!

[Ian Laird · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Why so pale and wan, young airman, prithee why so pale?' (p165) New Zealand observer/gunner Mark Way adapting Sir John Suckling's poem when inquiring about Biggles' palour.

Biggles learns to be a pilot, and is promptly sent to the archie-filled skies of the western front to duel with the Boche.

This is early in the canon, along with Biggles of the Camel Squadron (my first Biggles book), Biggles The Camels Are Coming and Biggles of 266.

We get one of the earliest descriptions of the young Biggles when he joins the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). It is well worth quoting because Biggles is rarely described in the future. Here he is in 1916 in his spotless RFC uniform at the age of seventeen and one month:

There was nothing remarkable, or even martial about his physique; on the contrary, he was slim, rather below average height, and delicate looking. A wisp of fair hair protruded from one side of his rakishly tilted RFC cap; his eyes, now sparkling with pleasurable anticipation, were what is usually called hazel. His features were finely cut, but the squareness of his chin and the firm line of his mouth revealed a certain doggedness, a tenacity of purpose, that denied any suggestion of weakness. Only his hands were small and white, and might have been those of a girl.’ (Pp9-10)

The raw recruit joins his fellow young pilots and learns how to survive, though barely. After a week of training in the ‘Rumpity,’ the quaintly named Maurice Farman Shorthorn, Biggles makes his first solo flight and manages to almost stall, almost crash and get completely lost. Three days later he’s off to the school of fighting and three days after that he’s posted to France with 15 hours flying time.

Biggles has to grow up quickly. In no time at all he’s transformed from a boy enlisting straight from school, to dodging bullets over France - all before his eighteenth birthday. It is sometimes hard to appreciate that Biggles was once young, inexperienced and not very adept. Skills which might have been latent still need time and practice to develop. Instinct, reflexes and judgement require time and effort to mature. But of course he is a quick learner.

The following contains spoilers.

As Biggles learns we get an insight into his progression: he is awestruck by the veteran flying instructors in Norfolk (Johns was himself such an instructor), flies FE2s in France in the 169, then Bristol Fighters, Sopwith Pups and finally the famous Sopwith Camel, made famous by Captain Johns and even more famous by Snoopy. At 169 Squadron he meets his observer (gunner) the Kiwi Mark Way, who provides some continuity in the narrative. Biggles first patrol is not auspicious: he misses seeing enemy planes and cannot stay in formation. The calm Mark Way saves him from complete disaster. On a reconnaissance mission he manages to ditch in the channel and they have to make their way back through the German lines.

This is when the story becomes quite episodic, with a night raid on Baron von Richthofen’s home airfield and dropping a French spy behind the line, complete with a brave rescue while being pursued by German cavalry. We learn two things: Biggles is getting better at his craft: ‘only the best pilots, those of proven courage, are chosen for the work.’ (p105), and the French are obsessed with food. The spy calls Biggles ‘my little cabbage’ (twice), ‘mushroom’ and ‘cabbage’ again.

There is a coming of age duel with an enemy in an Albatros, a much more seasoned pilot. Saved by the arrival of a squadron of Pups, Biggles reflects:

It was his first real lesson in the art of air combat. His pride suffered when he thought of the way the Hun ‘had made rings round him,’ and he was not quite as confident of himself as he had been, yet he knew that the experience was worth all the anxiety it had caused him. (p126)

The duel resumes later and Biggles manages to remove the enemy’s propeller with his dangling observational aerial, when he did a sudden loop. Only in a Biggles story.

Biggles growing reputation leads him to the famous 266 Squadron at Maranique, flying Pups, where he exhibits bravery and flair, including climbing straight up through von Richthofen’s circus, causing disarray, followed up with a cunning raid on the Red Baron’s base.

When the squadron gets new aircraft- Sopwith Camels – we get our final lesson in war flying and honour. Biggles is revolted at the tactics of the pilot of the yellow kite who shoots at flyers on the ground (badly wounding his old comrade Mark Way). In a cold fury Biggles seek vengeance and ends up finishing the despicable Hun even though he did not quite know at the time who he had shot down.

This is a key entry in the Biggles universe: we get to know him very well and it sets up the adventures to follow.

[Rachel Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Johns was one of those British men of a certain era with a biography that sounds that it can’t possibly be true, featuring more heroics, odd incidents, narrow escapes, and prolific writing than one would expect from any twelve reasonably adventurous people. He was a fighter pilot in WWI, where he had a number of exciting incidents, including accidentally shooting off his own propeller, culminating in being shot down and taken prisoner. He then became an RAF recruiting officer, and rejected T. E. Lawrence for giving a false name. Mostly after this, he wrote 160 books, including 100 about ace pilot Biggles. (I cribbed this from his Wikipedia article, which is well worth reading.)

These books were hugely popular in the UK for while, and are probably still easier to find there. They were also reasonably popular in India when I was there. I virtually never see them in the US, and had I known this I would have obtained some before leaving India. They weren’t huge favorites of mine, but I did enjoy them and they are excellent for researching early aviation and fighting tactics, such as they were; Johns notes that WWI pilots were not formally taught to fight, but had to learn on the job. Casualty rates were high.

Biggles Learns to Fly is a solid, if episodic, adventure story; the interest is in the very realistic details. It takes new pilots time to learn to spot enemy aircraft while flying, even when a more experienced gunner is screaming that they’re on top of him, because they’re not used to scanning in three dimensions. It fascinated me to read the details of such early, primitive aircraft and aerial warfare. Pilots communicated with hand-signals, and Biggles was sent on his first combat mission after something like ten hours of solo flying.

Here’s an excerpt from the very last page, after yet another heroic action.

Major Mullen shot a glance at Biggles, noting his white face and trembling hands. He had seen the signs. He had seen them too often not to recognize them. The pitcher can go too often to the well, and, as he knew from grim experience, the best of nerves cannot indefinitely stand the strain of air combat.

The Major sends him off for a week’s rest.

This is what we would now call combat stress (acute stress in civilians), which may or may not be a precursor to PTSD. (It becomes PTSD if it doesn't go away.) I found it interesting because of how matter-of-fact and sympathetic Johns is, depicting it as something that happens to everyone and doesn’t reflect badly on Biggles. Some other writing from WWI sees it as a sign of cowardice or mental/moral deficiency. Possibly he would not have been so sympathetic if Biggles wasn’t back in reasonably good shape after his rest. Or possibly the RAF had a different attitude. Then again, the book was written in 1935. Benefit of hindsight?

That's also a good example of the tone in general; emotions are noted but not dwelled upon. We only get enough of anyone's interior life to make their actions make sense.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

*does a happy little squeal*

Does anyone have this same problem...you find a WW1 or WW2 book (not Christian) that looks interesting and hope, hope, hope that it isn't full of language? Then you go home and the first several pages are full of swear word after swear word? I've done this much too often. So when I found several Biggles books at the charity shop yesterday I was a little incredulous. I heard about these books awhile ago, and though they looked like good books for boys.

And I'm sooo happy! This was full of flying during the Great War...and nothing else. It is clean and Biggles personality and valor during his flying won me over. I know my brother is going to love this and I'm hoping the other books are just as good.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Bigglesworth aged seventeen joined the army in 1916 and got posted to the as-yet unnamed Royal Flying Corps. He was a Second Lieutenant and after nine hours of solo flying he was sent to the Front in France. The biplanes were extremely new to war and had been used first for observation, then machine guns and bomb racks were fitted. Triplanes (known as tripehounds) were also in use on the German side. The planes such as Sopwith Pups were made of spruce wood and piano wire, and did not have the luxury of fuel gauges or parachutes.

This book was not the first written of the series but Capt. Johns is undoubtedly recalling his own youth and days in the fighter squadrons. He wrote it in 1935 and must have been amazed by how fast the aviation world had taken off and become sophisticated.

Reading the book we get reminded that the trenches stretched from the French or Belgian coast to the borders of Switzerland. Artillery were often shelling a position they could not see so planes were sent up to spot for them and the basic but effective signalling in use is described. We also see that cavalry was still in use and the unpleasantness of trench warfare is experienced a few times during crash landings, when the young officer is happy to escape back to his own lines.

The people and stress of those early days of aerial combat are extremely well realised, so that a young reader will be thrilled and a mature reader left gasping at the bravery involved. I had read many of the series but not this book, and was delighted to get a chance to read it as reissued for the centenary of the Great War. I'd hoped that Johns might have mentioned something of Biggles' family or home but this is not the case.

To my mind the WW1 books are the best written of the series. Biggles starred in many books but later became a one-dimensional figure as Johns wrote what his publishers told him that boys wanted to read. You may also be interested in 'Biggles - the Authorised Biography' by John Pearson which treats the character as though he was a real person.

[SierraKiloBravo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Click here for a video version of this review: https://youtu.be/0ujSUpZN8-g

I'm now five books into my mission to read all 100+ Biggles books, and in Biggles Learns to Fly, we are back in France during The Great War. The difference with this one is that this takes us right back to the start of Biggles' flying career. We open with him arriving for his flight training, aged in his late teens, follow him into his first combat, and see him become the hardened ace that we know so well.

This is another great entry in the series, and I read it in a matter of days. Like the first two books based in the first world war, it is a collection of stories, but with this one the stories all flow together and it reads like a proper novel more than a collection and is all the better for it.

The other thing I like about this was that it tickled the aeroplane nerd part of my brain. There is a progression of planes that took me back to my childhood love of these pioneering machines. Biggles starts on an FE2, moves to a Bristol Fighter, then a Sopwith Pup, and finishes in his famed Sopwith Camel.

This is a great series and I am loving it. It's a time capsule as it was written in the 1930s, and also a semi-first hand account of flying in the Great War as the author was a pilot. All up, its a thrilling adventure and Biggles Learns to Fly is a ripping yarn.

[Tony Calder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is pretty typical Biggles fare which, to me, means a fast-paced, easy-to-read story, with few moral quandries to make one think. Although written about 2/3 of the way through all of Johns' Biggles stories, chronologically it is the 3rd story in his career - following on from the two about his time as a schoolboy.

Like the rest of the stories set in World War I, this is similar to a set of short stories - Biggles has adventures in the air (and occasionally on the ground), but there is no ongoing plot, other than the war. Which is an accurate representation of what life was like for the pilots I imagine.

As the title says, this is the book that covers Biggles learning to fly and his first days as a pilot at the front during the Great War.

[Owen Townend · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Biggles is a classic of its time, I'm not sure it would fly with today's youth.

The most obvious issue would be the 'Hun' and other derogatory terms for our current German allies. However the 'Wilko, Old Man' lingo also seems a far cry from common parlance now. I daresay it's a little amusing to my young ears.

However what certainly isn't quaint is the attention to detail in this book. I would argue that it is so rich and precise it might elevate the story to something easier for adults to follow and appreciate. Considering that the old wartime fascination has largely passed from recent generations, I am not entirely sure any boys or girls of the intended age bracket would gravitate towards a title like this now.

Personally I enjoyed its evocative sense of history and Biggles' naive beginnings. I didn't enjoy its dense strategic prose.

I would recommend this book to those interested in WW1 aircraft, of all ages.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a YA book and, when I first read it, I was a YA person. A match made in heaven!

I am now a somewhat older adult. It is hard for me to read this book without the nostalgia googles on but Biggles Learns to Fly by W E Johns (2-Jan-2014) Paperback seems to be everything I remember it being - an enjoyable read. It has held up surprisingly well.

It's set in WW1 and, from memory, I think the Biggles books set in WW1 were my favourites. Possibly because W.E. Johns was writing more from his own experience.

I think I might continue on my trip down memory lane with a few more Biggles adventures.

[Catherine Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this could be categorised as a 'ripping yarn' for boys, I think it is actually worthy to be viewed as a document of history because the author flew planes in the First World War and drew on his own experiences. He doesn't shy from telling it like it was, and although his character Biggles doesn't go in for lengthy and deep reflection there are the odd remarks about the futility and horror of war.

[Dru · Rating 5 out of 5]

Biggles got off to a shaky start, but I was relieved to find that not only did he learn to fly but he also avoided getting killed, which is probably just as well.

The book still reads well after a forty (or so) year gap since I last read it. Drama and excitement, tick. Horrors of war, tick. The occasional lyrical description of flying, likewise tick.

[Chris Lightfoot · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an avid buff of all things aviation since being a young boy, I can't for the life of me work out why I've just read a Biggles book for the first time! Amazing. I would have loved it 30+ years ago and I loved it now. Full of excitement. I have bought a boxed set of numerous Biggles books so can't wait to continue with reading the next instalment!

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decided on a change of pace and thought this was probably a good choice for a first Biggles book, given the whole 'learns to fly' thing. Very much a product of the Boy's Own "get the hun" mentality, and doesn't need a lot of intellectual engagement, but enjoyable.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Biggles Learns to Fly

[Nobi Nobes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am loving this series!

[Budge Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book of 'short stories' or stand alone chapters, and definitely a book of two halves - the second half of the book is "Boys' Own", derring-do, public schoolboy jaunts ... though identifying various aspects of the work done by the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War. Quite entertaining.
It's the first half which is the gem - there are elements of the story of a teenage boy learning to fly which hint of being source material for an historian of the period. The chapter where Biggles is waiting for the ferry to take him to France for the first time ... there's a real sense of being there, of waiting for that boat trip which will change your life, maybe take you to life's end. There are little passages in the first few chapters where Johns takes you into the world of being a novice flyer in a novel form of war: those first few hours learning to fly ... the suddeness with which the novice was plucked from school and adolescence and sent to that Channel port to catch the boat for France.
You can almost see the battlefield below, feel the excitement and terror of flying for the first time, flying into a combat zone for the first time, witnessing death for the first time.
There are parts of the book which, while Johns makes every effort at understatement (he is, after all, writing for schoolboys) ... there are parts where you know he's not writing fiction, he's reflecting on his own experiences and memories, behind the fiction there's a backcloth of reality. The stories are entertaining ... the historical backcloth is well worth 5 stars.

[Andrew Ives · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although Biggles may be reknowned as 'for children', this is actually pretty well-written, historically accurate and perfectly grown-up in most of the vocabulary used. Johns writes with enthusiasm and clearly knows his subject very well indeed. This book is set in 1916-17 although written in the 1930s, set mostly in Northern France and reads more like a set of 16 closely-related and chronologically-arranged episodes, rather than a single novel. Biggles flies a variety of planes as they are developed and he improves as a pilot, as do the enemy. My biggest reservation is that at 204 pages, this already gets a little samey, a little too 'Boys' Own' occasionally, and the proofreading is less than impeccable at times. Maybe Johns just became swept up in the excitement of his own action scenes. This was interesting enough, but I can't imagine anyone reading all 102 Biggles books! 3.25/5

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was going to start this by saying this was the earliest set of the Biggles stories, back in The First World War.

Then I did a bit of research, and discovered that it depends upon how (and what) you are counting as a Biggles story/book - see http://www.biggles.info/

Perhaps, then, it would be better to say that this is the earliest set of any I have read.

Published in 1935, this is (apparently) a collection of 12 separate short stories, all of which are loosely linked together and follows some of Biggles earlier exploits.

I realise I'm not the target audience for these (I'm now too old). I don't care: sometimes it's nice just to re-live your childhood!

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though the English may be a blight upon the earth, Biggles is impossible not to love. Adventure and humor and the taste of danger with the now extinct dash of honor and chivalry in combat will greet you when you crack open this book and it's many companions.
Biggles is like a time capsule taking you back to an age before race and gender ruled everyone's minds and you were no more or less than what you could make of yourself.
Treat yourself to a wonderful ride through the sky, you won't regret it!

[Errick Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating to read of early air combat tactics with the famous Sopwith Camel and Pup to the fore. The skies over France filled with bi-planes and tri-planes with Baron Von Richthofen in the mix. Great story with James Bigglesworth earning his wings the hard way. This is the book where Biggles meets Air Commodore Raymond for the first time, who becomes his boss later in his life when attached to the air police.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1935, 'Biggles Learns to Fly' is an early entry in the famous 'Biggles' series of books, and as you might expect from the title concentrates on the early flying career of James Bigglesworth. The book is episodic, and full of unlikely escapes from almost certain death, yet makes very enjoyable reading. The storyline itself is surprisingly gritty in places, in a genuine attempt to convey some of the realities of war. Excellent.

[Robert Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

A glorious, rollicking origins story of young Bigglesworth - written in 1935 but taking the Ariel ace back to the age of seventeen.
If you want to dive in to Captain W. E. Johns this *is* a good starting point but actually a few more reading hours of other adventures under your belt is recommended. It’s good to now the man he becomes before you meet the boy he was.
The expected flying thrills and poignant memories, with some nicely balanced scenes of real humour too. A proper ripping yarn.

[Hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

B2: This book is old, and its story much older (halfway WW-1), but I still like it. Why?
It's thin enough to be appealing to young readers and contains modest adventures to keep them reading.
But meanwhile, it paints a picture of England / France of a century ago.
The coming-of-age of a boy in troubled times, not shying away, or playing down the horrors of death.

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd forgotten just how good these books were. A real nostalgia trip into the kind of book I was reading in my teens. Well worth another read for anyone fascinated by the kinds of exploit that first world war pilots were undertaking, often many times a day. All without the kinds of flying aid and communications equipment that we take for granted these days.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A trip down memory lane, so this review is nostalgia-tinted. It’s dated in various ways, but I really enjoyed reading Biggles again. This is based on Johns’ own experience as a beginner pilot in WW1, so almost felt educational at times. A very easy read, but at times sobering.

[Brian Gormley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 out of 5. A quick and enjoyable read - full of interesting snippets about air warfare in WW1. This is the story of how Biggles became a pilot - it strikes me as a more humane story than some of the others I’ve read - possibly because it was more informed by WE Johns experience.

[Andy Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first Biggles and, aside from the riproaring escapades, the author brings to bear in this some interesting insights into the issues facing the Royal Flying Corps in WW1 as well as some of the best descriptions of actual flying in the series.

[Claire (find me on Storygraph) · Rating 2 out of 5]

How did they let this man write so many books. Amusing at rare moments, but I don't regret not reading these books as a young girl. Also very happy to not need to be a war pilot.

[John Sheahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less roamntic of war flying than I remembered