THE CAMELS ARE COMING

by W. E. Johns

V. THE BLUE DEVIL (Pages 81 – 89)

Biggles watches Wilks trying to learn a new manoeuvre. Wilks says that there is a German Squadron at Aerodrome 27 around Lille, whose machines are all painted blue with some yellow on them, except the leader, whose plane is completely blue. “The Huns call him the ‘Blue Devil’ and they say he’s got thirty machines in two months – every machine he’s ever tackled”. Wilks has shot down one of his N.C.O. pilots and they got the German drunk and he talked about the blue plane. “This Hun has got a new stunt which sounds like the Immelmann business all over again. You remember that when Immelmann first invented his turn, nobody could touch him until we rumbled it, and then McCubbin got him”. “This lad I got tried to tell me how it was done when he was blotto – that is, the stick and rudder movements, but I couldn’t follow how it worked. I’ve tried to do it in the air; you saw me trying just now. It’s a new sort of turn; just when you get on this fellow’s tail and kid yourself you’ve got him cold, he pivots somehow on his wing-tip and gets you”. As a result, Biggles spends a good deal of time in the Lille area as he is curious to see this ‘Blue Devil’. In due course, Biggles is on a lone patrol at 15,000 feet when he is attacked by an all blue German Albatros. “Biggles knew that he was about to fight the battle of his life where one false move would mean the end. Neither of them had ever been beaten, but now one of them must taste defeat”. Both planes circle each other. “Come on, where’s your trick?” snarled Biggles. “He was ready for it when it happened, although just how it came about he could never afterwards tell. At one moment his sights were within a foot of the blue cockpit; he saw the Boche turn his head slowly, and the next instant the blue nose was pointing at him, a double stream of scarlet flame pouring from the twin Spandau guns”. Biggles tries to ram him firing as he goes. The German jerks sideways and Biggles gets him more by luck than design but bullets snatch at the side of his Sidcot suit and he feels a hammer-like blow smashing his goggles on his face, leaving him wiping blood from his eyes. He looks down to see the enemy machine half-way to the ground, spinning viciously. “That was closish,” he muttered to himself, “closish. I shall have to be more careful. I wonder how he did that stunt? Pity Wilks wasn’t watching!”