I lived the escapades. The rip-roaring feats, the drama and excitement, the lyrical descriptions of flying, the dogfights, the attention to details — rich and precise, the nerve and sheer bravery that he and the other pilots exhibited, fear and friendship and deaths, elevated the series to the most captivating delight, especially for someone interested in aviation and war history.
The books were fast-paced, easy-to-read, with few moral quandaries. Fighting evil was an abiding theme. The language used was vivid. Whether he was over British or German territory he neither knew nor cared; he had to get on to the ground or be burnt alive.
Aged seventeen, Biggles joined the army in and got posted to the Royal Flying Corps. It was the First World War. For two months, Biggles learnt flying at an aerodrome in Norfolk known as No. He was a second lieutenant and after nine hours of solo flying, he was sent to the front in France.
The biplanes were new to war and had been first used for observation. Later machine guns and bomb racks were fitted. Triplanes were in use on the German side.
The planes were primitive — made of spruce wood and piano wire and did not have the luxury of fuel gauges or parachutes. Combat tactics were non-existent and pilots and their gunners communicated by hand signals and had no contact with the ground. Tackling the enemy in the hostile skies over First World War France was considered a suicidal mission. In a theatre of war where instinct and lightning-fast reactions were the most important skills that a pilot could possess, Biggles had to learn to be a flier quickly — or die.
To his credit, he picked up the art of war-flying with an aptitude that amazed everyone, particularly his flight-commander. The war stories were an accurate representation of what life was like for the pilots. It was fascinating to read the details of the early, primitive aircraft and aerial warfare.
When he was not flying, I would picture him in his distinctive Royal Flying Corps uniform with a gleaming Sam Browne belt and polished boots. I would visualise the rough take-offs and landings on rugged airfields, the bone-chilling air above the clouds, the ear-splitting sound of the engines, the raging blaze of machine guns, the pungent smell of lubricant, fuel and explosives, the thunder of ground artillery. I would envision zeroing in on the enemy and shooting down the aircraft and following the screaming and burning aircraft down to the ground till it crashed in a fiery ball.
Register Don't have an account? History Talk 0. Description The Biggles books are adventure stories written by W. Reader's Reviews 1 These books are an enjoyable read for young teenage boys. Fairly formulaic, but fun to read. Yes, you also had the William series by Richmal Crompton, and also Jimmy series by the same authoress.
I have read all of his books, though, after reading your post, remembered the title of only one, namely, Orchids for Biggles, and that too because James Hadley Chase too was popular around the time, and he wrote a book titled Orchids for Miss Blandish. Was about to comment myself on my interest in Biggles as well as the Just William stories. Good to see that Biggles survives in living memory. Biggles Charter Pilot actually merged Biggles and SF: Biggles between the war goes to work flying around an eccentric scientist who keeps getting Biggles and Ginger in trouble.
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Share this: Tweet. Like this: Like Loading Gaushakri May 6, at am. It is American flavored and has a sci-fi plot in that an American is transported back and forth through time to help Biggles and his merry band of men. Biggles ends up in the present too.
It's probably not real faithful to Biggles as Ian knew him, but I am not going to make a major study out of it. The protagonist of a series of adventure stories written by Captain W. I used to read them as a schoolboy. Biggles was a pilot and very, very intrepid.
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