Biggles Defends the Desert

Biggles #26

by W.E. Johns

Hopelessness took him in its grip. He knew he was wandering in circles but he had ceased to care. All he wanted to do was drink. His skin began to smart. His feet were on fire...

It's the Second World War and Biggles is in the desert, defending the vital air-route from the West coast of Africa to the Middle East. Urgent stores, dispatches and important officials and officers are regularly flown over this route, but lately a number of planes have unaccountably failed to arrive at their destinations. They've disappeared on route and Biggles is there to find out why - and stop it happening again.

Genres: Fiction, Adventure, World War II, War, Young Adult, Classics, Childrens

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 1942

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

[Ian Laird · Rating 4 out of 5]

'I look forward to shooting you.' Hauptmann von Zoyton's message to Squadron Leader Bigglesworth

A very good Biggles tale. While Captain Johns experience is directly reflected in Biggles World War One exploits, Johns skill as a writer and wordsmith reached their peak with the World War Two stories and the air detective adventures set in the immediate post war period.

I doubt the author’s achievement is accidental: World War Two was an expansive conflict in many theatres, but still often fought at close quarters, especially the dogfights. War was still intimate enough. This story contains wartime air operations and foreshadows Biggles air detective work to come.

British aircraft keep disappearing rather too often and mysteriously over the desert on the West Africa to Middle East air route. Biggles and the extended gang are sent out to fix the problem. Immediately he smells a dastardly enemy set up. It turns out the fiendish Huns have perfected a giant magnetic ray which makes compasses useless and sends aircraft off course, to be shot up by Hauptmann von Zoyton’s Messerschmitts. A big magnetic ray sounds a bit fanciful, but that’s beside the point.

As is often the case in Biggles stories, the conflict contains personal battles such as the one he has with Hauptmann von Zoyton, who in return for Biggles saving him, alerts his British adversary to a water tank in the Luftwaffe car Biggles has stolen, but is now covered by sand after a storm (the car not Biggles, though he is a bit gritty). The message from von Zoyton’s ends>: ‘I look forward to shooting you.’ Biggles, thankful for the water, nevertheless sends back: ‘Message received. Have your guns ready.’ (p105)

There’s lots of daring do, which is tremendous, including stealing a Messerschmitt, stealing the aforementioned Luftwaffe car, raids on each other’s bases and duels in the sky. Plus, as Biggles and Ginger stealthily make their way towards the secret enemy base in an oasis, Biggles pauses for a moment to sagely muse about the art of leadership:

Ginger squatted down to wait . “Everything seems to be going fine,” he observed.

Biggles shrugged his shoulders. “You can never tell. However well a show like this is planned, much still depends on sheer chance. One can’t make allowances for the unexpected, for things one doesn’t know about. I should say that good leadership consists not so much of sitting down at headquarters and making plans, as adapting them to meet unexpected obstacles as they occur. Everything is all right so far. We’ll deal with trouble when it arises – as it probably will …” (p130)

[David Sarkies · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good old fashioned war story
27 April 2015

This is one of those classic Biggles books set during the war (well, World War 2, meaning that it is a little more serious than the World War I stories) so you can expect to encounter Nazis, dog fights, lots of action, and of course a fighter ace that Biggles has to beat. You also have the good old British slang that you would also expect from these war books that seem to paint the allies (or at least the British) as jolly good fellows who are always up for a cup of tea, and don't mind giving a bit of lip to their commanding officer (because isn't that what they were fighting for, the freedom to be able to give lip to their commanding officers without being court-martialled?).

Anyway, since this is a good old World War II story involving planes, you can expect to have a healthy dose of Spitfires:



Messerschmidts:



and just to add a bit of variety, as well as excuse to throw in some paratroopers, a couple of Junkers:



By the way, did you know that Messerschmidt also made cars? If you don't believe me, have a look at this picture that I found on Wikipedia:



Actually, that sort of looks like a cockpit on wheels. It almost seems that you could add it to a plane and it, well, will become a plane. Anyway, I haven't seen any of those things on the roads here (or in Germany, but then when I was in Germany I wasn't really keeping an eye out for any odd cars, though I am sure if one of them shot past me on the autobahn at 220 kph I probably would have noticed it, though I doubt I would have said 'oh, that must be one of the Messerschmidt cars').

You may be wondering what this book is actually about. Well, I've probably said everything you need to know about it without actually giving anything away. I probably don't need to give anything away because all you need to do is look at the title and work out that Biggles goes to some desert location (the Sahara), does something, and then saves the day. If you look at the cover you will see him in uniform, which suggests that he is fighting Germans (because the only wars that Biggles fought in involved fighting Germans – I don't think he saw action in Korea or Vietnam, but then again I understand that the British weren't actually involved in those wars).

Who knows, there is something like 128 Biggles books, and I have read a grand total of 8 (which means there is another 120 to go – I think I'll just stick with trying to get through the Famous Five and Secret Seven books), so I really can't call myself an expert on anything and everything Biggles. However, despite the age (and obviously some attitudes of the writers back in the 1930s and 1940s) this is one of those rollicking good adventures that you would expect a brave member of the Royal Air Force to throw himself into and come out on top.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book got really repetitive after a while. The book turned into "Ok, let's raid the other guy's base, get captured, get rescued heroically, and then make a daring dash for your own base, pursued by the enemy!" That kind of thing happened around five times, so I took a break from the monotony and began reading Agatha Christie for a little while. The plot line was not creative at all, but the writing was great.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is now World War 2, but Biggles is still flying, just in a different make of plane. He and several other pilots are in the middle of the desert fighting the Nazi's.

This wasn't as good as the WW1 books about Biggles, but there was some several things I still enjoyed--caught in the desert with no water, riding camels, hiding out on a German base, and so forth. The story didn't flow as well, I thought, and some of the other pilots I felt like were probably introduced in other books I haven't read.

Still another great read for boys!

*There is one use of God's name in vanity, and a couple other uses of mild swear words.

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het boek speelt zich volledig af in en vooral boven de woestijn. De hitte en droogte speelt dan ook een voorname rol in dit dodelijke kader. Ik las het bij 35°C, in een tropische hitte, en voelde me er echt wel bij betrokken. Johns, zoals we van hem verwachten, weet treffend de verlaten sfeer te treffen, maar heeft ook af te rekenen met het feit dat er niks te zien of te beleven valt, behalve dan het erg lang durende gevecht, dat is eigenlijk de essentie van het hele boek, van het squadron van Biggels tegen het squadron van de nazi's, die zowel wat het aantal manschappen als het materiaal betreft, aanzienlijk in de meerderheid zijn.
Wie niet houdt van luchtgevechten in oude vliegtuigen kan dit boek beter links laten liggen. Wie daarentegen smult van de techniek van de piloten en er graag de details van verneemt, krijgt hier van ervaren oorlogspiloot Captain W.E. Johns een nooit gezien dosis informatie en mag zich nadien wel expert op dit gebied noemen. Zowel de vliegtuigen die aan bod komen als de piloten, vooral Biggles, leveren huzazenstukjes en geven een inkijk in hoe het er in zo'n gevecht aan toe gaat. Ogen en handen te kort om alles te zien en alle razendsnelle opeenvolgende handelingen uit te voeren om tegelijk je tegenstander te grazen nemen en er voor te zorgen dat je zelf niet uit de lucht geschoten wordt. Naast dit staaltje van luchtacrobatiek komt ook de ethiek aan bod, geen genade en alles is toegestaan in het gevecht op leven en dood, zorg voor en medelijden met de verliezer, als die het overleeft natuurlijk, want dat is lang niet zeker.

[Edwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weer zo'n ouderwets Biggkes verhaal uit de Tweede Wereldoorlog.

Biggles en zijn team krijgen de opdracht om een transportlijn in Afrika vrij te houden van vijandelijke vliegtuigen. All diverse vliegtuigen zijn op onverklaarbare wijze verdwenen. Aan Biggles om dit op te lossen.

[Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this, though it did become a bit unbelievable how lucky Biggles was at times, but then this IS Biggles, so you have to let these things go. Enjoyed the change of scene.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains some of the most thrilling depictions of air battles, as witnessed from the ground, that I have ever come across. I am so used to Biggles; dogfights being depicted from the air, but this alternate viewpoint is really engaging. Biggles' final showdown with von Zoyton is similarly well written, with every twist and turn made exciting and palpable tension hanging in the air.

Not all of the book is quite as exciting, with characters often travelling back and forwards, back and forwards, a common trope in Johns' narratives. But a very nice read none the less. 3 stars.

[Eero Korpinen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Otin tämän luettavaksi sen tähden että Rowan Atkinsonin esittämä poliisi lukee näitä Thin Blue Linessa. Odotin kepeää seikkailua, mutta pääasiassa sain puuduttavaa selittelyä ja sankarinpalvontaa. Bigglesin eli lentokapteeni Bigglesworthin (esquire, oletan) otsa on yhtä kirkas kuin hänen niskansa on jäykkä, ja hänen harrastuksiinsa kuuluu brittiläisen upseerin turhantärkeys ilman siihen yleensä liittyvää huumoriarvoa ja charmia, sekä jokaisen suunnitelman jokaisen yksityiskohdan ja näkökulman selittäminen puhki. Viimeinen onkin tarpeen, sillä mukana roikkuva vänrikki Ginger on salskean sankarin tyhmän mutta uskollisen apurin perikuva. Biggles ei sen sijaan ole tehnyt eläissään yhtäkään virhettä, mikä johtunee hänen lievistä ennustajankyvyistään joilla hän pystyy ennakoimaan vihollisen jokaisen liikkeen niin maalla kuin ilmassa, muissa kirjoissa varmaan merelläkin. Tämän vuoksi edes harvat taistelukohtauksetkaan eivät jaksa innostaa. Näitä olisi ollut saatavilla iso pino, mutta tämä sarja jäi nyt tähän.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those magnificent men…

World War 2, the Sahara Desert. British planes carrying supplies, dispatches and important officials have been going missing en route over the desert, so Squadron-Leader James Bigglesworth – Biggles to his friends – has been despatched with his squad to an oasis halfway across the desert, partly to protect planes as they pass the danger zone, and partly to get to the root of the mysterious disappearances. Biggles is an ace fighter pilot, having made his name in WW1 and now back fighting the same enemy twenty years later. His old companions are still with him – Ginger and Algy – supplemented by some new faces, all skilled pilots too. They have their trusty Spitfires and endless heroism to carry them through.

I used to love the Biggles books as a child and wondered if the old magic would still be there. I’m happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my revisit to these old friends. Although they’re written in slightly more simple language than an adult book would be, and occasionally Johns takes a detour to give a little life lesson – on how to plan things, or the qualities required of a leader, etc. - the story itself is certainly enough to hold the interest of grown-ups as well as children. The edition I read, from the Random House Children’s Publishing range, has a helpful notes section which explains some of the terms and jargon that the characters use, which have since fallen out of common knowledge.

Biggles and the squad soon discover that the planes are being diverted by a nefarious Nazi plot to mess with their compasses, taking them off their route. The Nazi squad responsible for this is led by the German fighter ace, von Zoyton, and his team of Messerschmitt pilots. So Biggles’ first task is to destroy the equipment that is sending out dodgy signals, and then to drive the Germans out of this sector of the desert to make the route safe again. This will involve sneaky plots, thrilling dogfights, desert survival and even camel rides! It all happens at a fast pace with no long dull passages, but there’s plenty of description that gives a real feel, if a little sanitised, of what it would have been like out there, far from the main action of war but performing a vital task.

The men are heroes, and all are brave and good. However they do make mistakes and misjudgements sometimes, even Biggles, which keeps them human. Both Brits and Germans show respect for their counterparts – they may be at war and they may be forced to kill each other, but they recognise that the enemy is simply doing his job, as they are doing theirs. First published in 1942 (under the title Biggles Sweeps the Desert), Johns already differentiates between German servicemen, for whom he has clear respect and no particular ill-will, and Nazi fanatics, who are the baddies. I think this is why the books still feel quite comfortable to read – there is no sense of racialised anti-German hatred, only anti-Nazi, and we can still all get on board with that, I think. There’s also a sense of them simply doing a necessary job – there’s no unseemly celebration over the deaths of enemy pilots on either side, while enemy prisoners are granted respect and decent treatment, by both sides.

I was pleased that Random House have chosen not to update the text as far as I can see. This means there’s an awful lot of smoking, seen as a Good Thing, which I feared they might have felt inclined to edit out. The British also often refer to the Germans as “the Hun”, now seen as somewhat derogatory, but back then, as Johns himself points out in a short note presumably added years later, “The word Hun used in this book was the generic term for anything belonging to the German enemy. It was used in a familiar sense, rather than derogatory.” By leaving this kind of thing in, the book keeps an air of authenticity and will give young readers a truer picture of the habits and language current at the time.

So a happy reunion with my old heroes for me, and I’d be quite happy to recommend Biggles for a new generation of readers, young or old – they feel more like a glorification of heroism and decency than of war itself, and they are respectful towards the enemy, showing that they too are heroic and decent men (except the Nazis). Plus, and more importantly, the adventures are still thrilling!

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[Daisy May Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biggles Defends The Desert is the story of a shindig in the desert. We go attack them, they attack us, people are trapped, people are rescued, Biggles has his head basically blown off but then recovers in spectacularly swift fashion, and there is never any doubt as to what the ending might be. But then, I suspect, that might be the way things roll in these books. It certainly is the way that things roll in the (outlandish, ridiculous, fabulous) Worralls books which was my route into them.

It was all a lot more Blytonian than I expected: Johns starts writing and then he does not stop and all you have to do as a reader is keep up. It is also very much of its time, and reminded me a lot of the Powell and Pressburger Colonel Blimp film and also a lot of the propaganda films I've come across from that period. It also feels like one of the last hurrahs for the boysown-let's-go-turn-the-world-red-rah-rah-empire quality that so dominated the turn of the century. It didn't surprise me when I had a look at Johns' biography to discover that he was born in 1893 and that he worked as well on magazines. There's a very strong serial vibe to them.

Did I like it? I'm not sure. I didn't find it quite as diverting as the Worrals books but I'd certainly pick up another one if I came across it.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another new one to me, but it has turned out to be quite a classic! Captain W E can certainly keep a story racing along! There's hardly a moment to draw breath as Biggles tracks down to cause of a series of mysterious disappearances of planes attempting the strategically important route between the West and East coasts of Africa. This turns out to be a magnetic ray to lure the unsuspecting pilots off course, only to be shot down by the ruthless Hauptmann von Zoyton and his squadron of Messerschmitts. Of course, he's met his nemesis in Biggles and the East-West route is soon safe again!

[Robert Hepple · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in 1942, 'Biggles Defends the Desert' is a WW2 story featuring Biggles and his associates, with a plot in which he sets up a small fighter unit at a secret desert location in order to investigate and defeat a suspected German unit in the area. The story is fast-paced and full of action, though lacking the attention to detail that was so typical of the authors WW1 stories.

[Budge Burgess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining schoolboy stuff, sheer escapism and nostalgia. It's very English - there's a Scotsman appears and Johns lards his conversation with 'bricht moonolit nicht' pidgin Scots, and a Welshman, who starts every sentence with 'look you', etc. That does get a bit annoying.
It's desert warfare, sand and sun and sandstorms and an entertaining romp from a different era.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Biggles Adventure set in the Desert in WW2 & with all the typical twists & turns Biggles fans will have come to expect & enjoy.
Not his best adventure, but still a good exciting read .

[Andy Gore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant Biggles.

[Ozias · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first Biggles story I've read in a while and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I wasn't expecting so many plot twists - well-written twists at that.

[Matthew Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb Just the ticket for a windy Sunday with the rest of my family watching the tennis Biggles and his merry band of smoking good guys rout those dastardly foreigners, for the 94th time!

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another classic Biggles story, full of action, narrow escapes and somewhat improbable rescues! All great stuff and lots of fun.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reviewing the series as a whole, rather than the books individually
The Biggles series is great adventure fiction: we get high stakes, aerial action (in most of the books), and a hero who is endlessly loyal, competent, and calm under pressure.

I love the dogfights, recon missions, and wartime scenarios.

Where the series falls short is character depth. Some attitudes and simplifications reflect the period in which the books were written. There are very definitely dated elements, but considering the era the books were written - overall the series performs well. More than a few of the stories defy plausibility, but who doesn't love to curl up with a good adventure book or 10?

“Never say die.”

[Gary]

I used to love Biggles books as a boy and wondered if I would still enjoy this as an adult. I loved it! Yes, some of the dialogue is dated but the plot is good and the story rolls along at a good pace. These are 'ripping' yarns at their best and very enjoyable. Biggles is a true Brit fighting for Britain in our hour of need so the story is blatantly flag waving (it was published in 1942) and this gives a flavour of how people felt back then, when they were scared of losing the war. The author was in the army and the RAF, so he knows his stuff.
The story is set in the North African desert. Biggles' squadron of Spitfires has to find out why important aircraft are disappearing and make the route safe. It is a German squadron of Messerschmitts, of course and Biggles has to outwit and beat them.
The enemy are not patronized and are portrayed as intelligent and 'cunning'.They are portrayed as Nazis rather than Germans, presumably to make them easier to hate.
Thoroughly enjoyable escapism reading.

[Daniel Bratell · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a couple of different types of Biggles books. This is the war adventure variant. People will die. There will be blood.

The story is set in the middle of the Sahara desert where Biggles and his squadron has been sent to stop the losses of transport planes going to Egypt. Quite quickly they figure out that there are Nazis in the desert as well and from them on it's a never-stopping battle between

Somewhere in the story there is a morality message saying that you will come out ahead if you behave honorable. I think the author screwed up that message a bit. Anyway, nobody reads Biggles books for those things. We all read them for the adventure, the action and this book has a lot of action. Very high pace.

[Marko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tämä 1942(!) julkaistu kirja oli vauhdikas, nopeatempoinen ja paljon yllätyksiä sisältänyt lentosotaseikkailu autiomaassa. Siinä mielessä kirja oli erittäin mukavaa luettavaa.

Sen sijaan kirjan päähenkilö Biggles oli vastenmielinen selittäjä, besserwisser ja mikromanageri. Kukaan muu ei osannut kirjassa mitään ja Biggles ei myöskään koskaan missannut tilaisuutta muistuttaa siitä. Hän osasi kaiken, tiesi kaiken ja ärsytti ainakin tätä lukijaa niin paljon, että toivoin jo epätoivoisesti, että saksalainen lentäjä-ässä Hauptmann von Zoyton ampuisi hänet alas. Arvatkaapa ampuiko...

Yksi tähti Bigglesille ja kolme tähteä muulle sisällölle. Eli annoin kokonaisuudelle keskiarvona kaksi tähteä.

[Chathura Perera · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is one of my favorite biggles book the authentic feel of the world war 2 era captures me all the time the uncanny plot twist made sure that i read it in one go.this book is good for world war 2 fans

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biggles jolly-well bashes the Bosh: plenty of stiff upper lip and playing with straight a bat in evidence here... Unfortunately, W.E. John's style of writing, with too much exposition, description and Boys Own dialogue, is dated. BTW - great cover!

[Siddhartha Banerjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily the best Biggles book - the whole squadron is involved!

[Mimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant Biggles novel.
I know, I'm biased. He was my first book-crussch after all..

[Hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows clearly the logistic problems a squadron leader has.
Again colonial attitude against native population (Touaregs have not been tamed yet)

[Micah Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good desert story, again in two parts. I found the second part better, because it has more action and less of being lost in the desert.

[James Bunyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are spitfires in this one!