Biggles Air Detective

Biggles #37

by W.E. Johns

This contains seven short stories. They are all Air Police stories and are as follows:


THE CASE OF THE BLACK SHEEP

An ex-RAF Officer is using his aircraft to smuggle nylons into the UK, picking them up from a ship.


THE CASE OF THE VISITING SULTAN

A notorious US gangster is planning to attack a Sultan's aircraft in order to steal his diamonds.


THE CASE OF THE UNREGISTERED OPERATOR

Biggles goes to prison in order to uncover an illegal air transportation operation for criminals.


THE CASE OF THE WOUNDED AGENT

Biggles is sent on a special assignment to save a secret agent, and his information, from Bulgaria.


THE CASE OF THE BRILLIANT PUPIL

An excellent flying pupil, who already knows how to fly, is using his solo flights for illegal reasons.


THE CASE OF THE MURDERED APPRENTICE

Biggles uncovers a smuggling operation from Holland when investigating why a man was murdered.


THE CASE OF THE STOLEN AIRCRAFT

A man who has designed a new plane is stealing aircraft for the aviation fuel they contain.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Adventure, Historical Fiction, British Literature, Historical

151 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1950

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

[Julian Worker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Biggles book I've ever read and I am genuinely impressed.

Obviously, Biggles is always going to triumph and isn't going to be shot dead or shot down in his aircraft on Page 4, but nonetheless I have to say there's a certain amount of ingenuity in some of these stories which allows Biggles (short for Bigglesworth) to succeed.

I was half expecting / fearing that Biggles would turn out to be a Bulldog Drummond of the skies but he's not like that at all, at least not in these stories. He has a few pals - Algy, Bertie, and Ginger - and there are few female characters in these short stories, but he's a respectful person who doesn't like making guesses, who knows right from wrong, and is prepared to right those wrongs when he can.

[Ian Laird · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a movement on the sand that told him that his vigil was at an end. A shadow, some distance to the right, caught his eye, a broad black mark where a moment before there had been none. He watched it and saw that it was moving at the same pace as himself. That told him everything. Another machine was there, flying level with him, between him and the blazing orb of the sun. (p37)

This set of self-contained stories was originally commissioned by Marks and Spencer and published in the early fifties. While individual stories are not a huge part of the Biggles canon, the style is reminiscent of the early World War One tales which were often only loosely connected.

Biggles has an opportunity here to apply his talents, especially his forensic skills, to dealing with smugglers, often carrying exotic contraband, jewel thieves and in one instance an enterprising but ill-fated young inventor who takes to stealing aircraft, it in itself surprisingly easy to accomplish, not for the machines themselves but would you believe for the aviation fuel in their tanks, which of course was strictly rationed and difficult if not impossible for civilians to obtain.

There is also a Biggles perennial - the spy rescue from hostile territory. And we could not miss out on a deadly duel in the sky. As the quote above shows, the old warhorse has lost none of his skill in detecting a hostile pilot coming out of the sun, naturally enough, above the Moroccan desert. Jolly good show.

A excellent selection which is a suitable appetiser for Johns masterpiece omnibus devoted to Biggles post World War Two career as an air detective Biggles Air Detective Omnibus.

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I much prefer the full length Biggles novels rather than the short stories because there is time for the plot to develop, characters are perhaps more fully described, there is more time to devote to the ambience and, of course, there is more action. This is not to say that the short stories lack these components but they are, understandably, in shorter supply! But in 'Biggles Air Detective' Johns' give full rein to his wordpower and descriptions and gives us seven non-stop, rip-roaring tales.

In these tales, Biggles cracks a smuggling racket in nylons [the story was written in 1952!] in 'The Case of the Black Sheep', ensures that American crook Rocky Cordova doesn't wreck the impending visit to Britain of an African chief in 'The Case of the Visiting Sultan', chases across France to identify a crooked pilot who is breaking all the rules of the Air Navigation Code in 'The Case of the Unregistered Operator' and flies over to Italy, in an unmarked 'plane so as to attract no attention, to rescue an injured operator in 'The Case of the Wounded Agent'.

And Air Commodore Raymond keeps him busy in the final three cases, 'The Case of the Brilliant Pilot' in which an experienced flyer pretends to be a novice so that he can have access to various aircraft in order to pursue his nefarious activities, 'The Case of the Murdered Apprentice' in which Biggles uncovers the murderer of Edmund Teale who has stumbled on a smuggling racket, and finally 'The Case of the Stolen Aircraft' where Biggles, along with all his chums, who are present throughout the tales, discovers who is responsible and why when aircraft suddenly go missing overnight at an airfield.

They are all excellent tales that makes the book a thoroughly absorbing read.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first flight into a Biggles book. I think I kinda read one in year 7 or something. I enjoyed most of these stories. One was a little bland, but they were short and easy to read. A small touch of Holmes-style methods and a simple writing style.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

So these stories are much more juvenile in their tone and content - but hey, this was an exclusive collection for Marks and Spencer so that's somewhat to be expected. When you lean into the fun of it, they're all really good - a chance to follow Biggles on some quick adventures around Europe, without the protracted back-and-forwards and army of ex-Nazis that normally bog down his travels. A really enjoyable collection - 4 stars.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

My very first Biggles book, bought for me by my mother to take on my grade 6 camp in 1980. The one that started it all for me and still holds a special place in my now 88 book collection.

[Mark Isaak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seven short stories about Biggles, working with Scotland Yard, solving flight-related crime in post-WWII England. The plots are creative and well thought out; most involve smuggling, but there is also piracy, rescue in a hostile environment, and stolen equipment. There are small doses of action-adventure, but the intellectual parts of the cases are emphasized, too. The big shortcoming is that Biggles is the only character in the book who is more than a name and a profession.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1952, 'Biggles - Air Detective' is a collection of seven short stories featuring the exploits of Biggles in his post-WW2 career as a detective with the Special Air Police at Scotland Yard. The tales are simplistic, being very short, but nevertheless ingenious and an enjoyable read.

[Daniel Bratell · Rating 2 out of 5]

An absolutely ok Biggles book with a couple of simple short stories. Nothing special though. A couple of the stories is a bit "deus ex", but the most interesting part is actually the look into post-war Britain with smuggling and rationing.

[mmooaak · Rating 1 out of 5]

varför läste jag den här

[Sonia · Rating 5 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.”

[Ashkhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read adventures of the famous pilot.