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Biggles' Second Case

(Biggles #33)

W.E. Johns

3.54 · Rating details · 71 ratings · 7 reviews

The second great adventure of Sergeant Bigglesworth C.I.D..

The Case of the pirate U-Boat!

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Hardcover, 191 pages

Published March 1949 by Hodder & Stoughton Limited (first published April 1948)

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Feb 11, 2017 Gerry rated it really liked it

Another rip-roaring adventure featuring Biggles and his chums Algie, Bertie and Ginger as this time they chase all over the South Indian Ocean to try and track down the German von Schonbeck in his submarine U-517.

The war is over but von Schonbeck has managed to send every ship which he had intercepted to the bottom of the ocean while murdering every man, woman and child aboard in cold blood and into the bargain managing to steal five million pounds worth of gold. His ploy was to stop the ships, Another rip-roaring adventure featuring Biggles and his chums Algie, Bertie and Ginger as this time they chase all over the South Indian Ocean to try and track down the German von Schonbeck in his submarine U-517.

The war is over but von Schonbeck has managed to send every ship which he had intercepted to the bottom of the ocean while murdering every man, woman and child aboard in cold blood and into the bargain managing to steal five million pounds worth of gold. His ploy was to stop the ships, order the crew and passengers into the boats, having stated his intention to sink the ship, steal the gold and then turn his U-boat's machine guns on the helpless life-boats.

Air Commodore Raymond not only wants to bring him to justice but also wants the gold recovered so Biggles and his pals set out to try and locate von Schonbeck in the South Indian Ocean. It is no easy task for as Biggles states, 'It is like looking for a needle in a haystack.' The problem is that there are a group of islands, originally discovered in 1762, which very few people have seen let alone landed on. And any one of them might be von Shonbeck's island, where he is hiding the gold and gaining hidden anchorage.

St Paul Island, Prince Edward Island, Macdonald Island, Penguin Island, the Heard Islands and others are considered too inaccessible to be the German's base. But some in the Apostle Group are large enough to be a good retreat and Biggles considers that the most likely to be the one von Shonbeck heads for is Kerguelen Island, which is 45 miles long by eight miles wide. The search is, therefore, focussed on that island.

The problem with Kerguelen is that there is no communication with anywhere and it is 2,100 miles from the nearest inhabited land. But, undaunted Biggles heads that way with two amphibian aircraft. Nearing their destination they spot a Norwegian whaler and some of the sailors on board wave to the passing aircraft but Biggles is suspicious that they are not as friendly as they appear - and as it turns out, he is right to be so.

Finally managing to land on Kerguelen the crew spot signs of recent life and thus begins a great adventure of cat and mouse as each party tries to outfox and shoot up the other. Flitting between Kerguelen and another nearby uninhabited island the tension and excitement mounts and culminates in a dramatic showdown in which lives are lost on the German side but, even though Biggles, Algie, Bertie and Ginger suffer at times and even look as though they might lose their lives, they do not and eventually the quartet turn up triumphant.

Back in London Air Commodore Raymond is exultant and allows Biggles and his men to relax for a short time with Biggles declaring to Raymond, 'As far as we're concerned it's all washed up. Think of something new.' 'I might just be able to do that,' comments Raymond to which Biggles replies, 'But not today I hope?' 'All right - we'll leave it until tomorrow,' says Raymond laughingly and that is exactly what they do!

...more

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Oct 18, 2020 Pavel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Těžká nostalgie 🙂

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May 14, 2016 Edwin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: jeugd, 2016

Nadat de oorlog afgelopen was, meldde zich een man bij de autoriteiten van het bezettingsleger in Duitsland. Nog voor de man kon vertellen wat hij wou, werd hij neergeschoten door een andere man, die snel de benen nam.

Kort voordat de man overlijdt, verteld hij dat er op een eiland in de Stille Oceaan voor 5 miljoen Pond sterling aan goud verborgen ligt. Dit is door de bemanning van de U517 daar verborgen.

Tijdens de zoektocht naar dit goud, komen Biggles en zijn mannen er achter dat deze U-boot k ...more

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Dec 08, 2020 Pat rated it it was amazing

What a joy this book was, no wonder young British boys love these books!

Captain James Bigglesworth is no longer flying for war but is now flying for his country. This adventure has him hunting down an escaped nazi who is in possession of stolen gold. Five million pounds sterling of gold to be precise. With his trusty friends to help him he needs to track down Von Schonard and retrieve the gold.

I loved this book. Do very exciting and well written. Can’t wait for my next Biggles adventure.

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Dec 22, 2019 Daniel Bratell rated it did not like it

Possibly the worst Biggles book I've read. I think them encountering polar bears in the Indian Ocean sealed the 1 star grade. Not helped by Bernie being a moron, Biggles being a moron, everyone being morons.

Background: War is over, Biggles is working for Scotland Yard but is for some reason sent to chase a Nazi submarine in the Indian Ocean, and off he goes. If that sounds interesting, forget it. There are dozens of Biggles books. Every one likely to be better than this one. ...more

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Jun 29, 2020 Philippe Hyndrikx rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Een van de eerste die ik als kind zelf kocht, happy memories! Toen vond je ze nog allemaal op de boekenbeurs en was het echt kiezen, Ik heb mij de keuze toen nooit beklaagd ook al mis ik er nog steeds een paar. Het ganse verhaal over een ontsnapte U-boot en zijn "piratenschat" is zeker één van de beste uit de reeks ...more

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Aug 21, 2019 Ian Anderson rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, do-i-want-to-keep, reviewed, for-children, biggles

I was a kid the last time I read a Biggles book, but it left an impression of a distinctive style of writing. A local book fair was the opportunity to give to a good cause and revisit the style of W.E. Johns and remind me why it left an impression.

Set in late 1945 or early 1946, Biggles and pals have left the RAF and are now working for a special flying unit of Scotland Yard. They are given a job of tracking down a U-Boat that failed to surrender at the end of WW II and £5,000,000 of gold in the ...more

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About W.E. Johns

W.E. Johns

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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 sh 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. ...more