“BIGGLES” OF THE CAMEL SQUADRON

by Capt. W. E. Johns

IX. THE GREAT ARENA (Pages 157 – 174)

Biggles is inspecting every round of ammunition as he fills a cartridge belt, waiting for his mechanics to finish their overhaul of his aircraft. Biggles takes off as the sun sets, purely for a test flight before his morning dawn patrol. He encounters a lone Fokker D.VII, a blue machine with a yellow tail, wearing the streamers of a flight commander and they spar with each other, neither experienced pilot gaining an advantage. However, when Biggles’ gun jams, the German flies alongside him and smiles and waves before returning to his own lines. “You’re not a bad sort, Yellowtail,” he thought as he throttled back and plunged down into the misty depths. “It isn’t every German pilot who’ll let up on you because your guns have jammed. You’re a sportsman!” Back at base, Biggles finds Major Mullen, MacLaren and Mahoney standing on the tarmac with Colonel Raymond from Wing Headquarters. Biggles mentions the yellow-tailed Fokker and Raymond says “They say Von Doering flies that machine”. The Colonel goes on to say “He had scored fast because, almost without exception, the men he has shot down had never before been engaged in a combat!” Von Doering has a ‘circus’ of about thirty machines and they specialise in attacking new squadrons flying to France from home in England. They attack them as they fly down the Lines as “The Boche Intelligence Service is keeping him posted”. Raymond has a plan to put a stop to this game. 266 Squadron are to fly to Marquise and pretend to be newly arrived from England. Then fly down the Lines towards St. Omer. With Major Mullen they have ten machines, all Sopwith Camels, but they will be up against thirty German aircraft. Major Mullen will lead with Mahoney leading ‘A’ flight, MacLaren ‘B’ flight and Bigglesworth ‘C’ flight as usual, each flight consisting of three machines. The operation goes according to plan, although Biggles is asked by a ferry pilot where he got his M.C. (Military Cross), an incident he passed off with a laugh, trusting that it would be mistaken for modesty. The squadron fly on their planned route, aware of the danger they face. Algy and the Professor are in Biggles’ flight. “Once a formation of British D.H.4’s passed below them, heading for the Lines, and the observers, coolly leaning against their gun-rings, waved them a greeting as they passed”. (Johns must have had a wry smile to himself as he wrote that sentence as he himself used to be a D.H.4 bomber pilot). In due course, 266 Squadron is attacked from all sides by about thirty German aircraft. “The sky was raining Huns!” Biggles “crouched a little lower in the cockpit, curled his lips back from his teeth in a mirthless grin, and shifted his grip on the control-stick so that his thumb rested on the gun-button. In that brief moment before the clash he felt a pang of bitterness against the Higher Command that had sent them, like sheep, to be slaughtered”. A major aerial battle takes place. (He caught a glimpse of two blue-painted wheels joined with a broad axle, zooming up over his top plane - is the illustration opposite page 170). As Biggles engages with Von Doering he sees an advancing cluster of black specks in the sky and recognises them as S.E.5’s, some twenty-four of them. So this is the trap, they were waiting for the Camels to lure Von Doering’s circus to destruction. “The sight sent a curious wave of compassion surging over Biggles. It was all in the game, of course, this trap business, but it had also been in the game for Von Doering to shoot him down two nights ago, when he had him stone-cold with jammed guns. Without pausing to wonder why he did it, Biggles looked at Yellowtail, a hundred feet away on the opposite side of the circle, raised his arm, and pointed. Von Doering looked back and up over his shoulder, and saw death in the streaming muzzles of the swarm of S.E.s. yet he waited to throw Biggles a gesture of thanks before whirling round and racing for the Lines”. Major Mullen rallies his Camels and there are only seven. Three have been lost. Algy is there by not the Professor. “So the Professor’s gone!” Biggles mused. Still, perhaps he had only had to force-land with a damaged engine”. (We are never told anything further about the Professor in this story. Does he die? Well he appears in further stories in the book – including the last one – so it would appear he doesn’t. However, in the story “The Sheikh and the Greek” in the book “Biggles Flies Again”, Biggles meets the Professor’s brother, Captain Watkins, who is a Naval Captain and Biggles tells him that both he and Algy were with him, the Professor, when he “went west”. So clearly, the character does die during the war. It is well known that Johns’ Royal Flying Corps stories are not written in order, so perhaps this is to be regarded as the story in which the Professor does die). Biggles wonders how many of Von Doering’s circus would limp back across the Lines, ruthlessly pursued by the S.E.s who had the height advance. He suspected maybe two or three. They set course for Maranique. “I must have been crazy to give Von Doering that signal!” Biggles mused. “I wonder what could have come over me? Still, one good turn deserves another, and we’re quits now!”