Biggles Charter Pilot

Biggles #27

by W.E. Johns

This contains 16 short stories all of which are unusual in that they consist of Ginger telling his comrades in 666 (Fighter) Squadron of his adventures with Biggles when they were chartered by Dr. Augustus Duck (nicknamed "Donald") to take him to investigate various strange phenomena.

Genres: Adventure, Classics

158 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1943

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

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Worms! Thousands of worms! Millions of worms!"

[Robert Hepple · Rating 2 out of 5]

Published in 1943, 'Biggles - Charter Pilot' is a collection of aviation adventure short stories featuring Biggles and his colleagues Algy and Ginger. The story format consists of them recounting 16 tales to their WW2 RAF colleagues of their adventures whilst operating an aeroplane charter business pre-war. The tales all involve scientific expeditions chartered by one Dr Augustus Duck, and usually involve fantastic happenings, some of which belong with the late 19th century fad for 'lost civilization' stories. The stories are all daft as a brush, but are fun.

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een wel heel speciaal boek in de reeks bestaande uit een hele reeks korte verhalen met extra veel humor. Elk verhaal is een pareltje op zich, volledig zelfstandig van begin tot einde maar toch in een verhalende context gezet. Enorm veel aktie vol spanning. Het enige jammere is dat het boek niet meer bladzijden heeft en dat het laatste verhaal ook een "einde" bevat zodat er waarschijnlijk geen vervolg komt.

[Daniel Bratell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories, all of them having the same form. Biggles, Algy and Ginger are pilots, guards and assistants for Dr Duck, a biologist examining the source of rumors of fantastic occurrences around the globe.

The four of them go somewhere, something happens, the fantastic occurrence is explained, possibly, in some way or another.

Easy read. About 15 stories in about 150 pages so very short short stories.

[Hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice reading, Point of view is mostly from Ginger's.
Besides the hilarious stories, there was one paragraph that caught my eye.
Biggles & Friends are believed to be upholding law and moral standards.
However, in one of the central-American stories the use paying "palm grease" to local officials is considered normal, and the best way of getting things done.
I presume Biggles never put THAT on his resume, when he started working for Scotland Yard.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really light-hearted Biggles book here, released in the middle of the second World War. To see Biggles travel around with a man called Donald Duck, fighting giant crabs, cavemen, triffids, talking crocodiles, giants, mammoths, crusaders, dodos, a green horse and... ghosts, well each new chapter title I came to seemed to be even more ridiculous than the one before. It's really good fun and easy to sink into. 4 stars.

[Greg Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one may have been entitled: Ginger Spins Some Tall Tales, but one has to remember these were written as fantasy escapes for weary, frightened war-torn teenagers. Not a lot of variety in the stories; they all revolve around the bizarre scientific journeys of Dr (Donald) Duck.
In general I like Johns' short story books, but this one did get a tad repetitive.

[Yato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book for when you want bite-sized stories, perhaps to read with a nice cup of tea. I really enjoyed it the first time I read this book and the stories hold up even after 15 years. It is a nice addition to the Biggles saga.

[Micah Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how different this is to the other books, with Ginger telling each story to his comrades.

[Rosie]

astonishing that in a book with so many offhandedly racist remarks wej still managed to save the worst for last. skillful

[Justin Tuijl · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite W.E. Johns books. Wicked imagination! I just love all the ideas he comes up with.

[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.”

[Edwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boek met 16 korte verhalen van Biggles en zijn vrienden. Zoals al eerder opgemerkt, ben ik niet zo van kapot van.

Ginger verteld de avonturen die hij samen met Biggles, Algy en professor 'Donald' Duck beleefden.

Van reuzen in Patagonie tot Kruisridders in de Kaukasus, een groene paard en robben, de helden komen het allemaal tegen.