BIGGLES - AIR COMMODORE
First Published in May 1937 - 255 pages
Re-published in 1994 as Biggles and the Secret Mission
Biggles
is intrigued by a mystery. Supply ships have been disappearing in the Indian
Ocean and before they sank they managed to broadcast a final message. In all
cases, when they referred to the word "weather" it was misspelt as
"whether". Biggles concludes that the same person sent the messages
otherwise the coincidence would be too great. Biggles approaches Colonel
Raymond, now with Scotland Yard, but formerly with the Air Intelligence staff
when Biggles was in 266 squadron, to find out more
information. Before he knows it, Biggles is dining in the Foreign Office
and setting out his ideas about how to deal with the problem. Biggles is given
a temporary commission in the Royal Air Force with the rank of Air Commodore
and his plans are put into effect. A decoy supply ship has been sent out called
the Bengal Star. A Royal Navy ship called the Seafret
then follows this. Biggles, Algy and Ginger then follow on in an
amphibian aircraft named Nemesis. The plan is too lure out whoever is
attacking the British ships with the Bengal Star and then follow them to their
base and launch an RAF attack on it. Things go wrong from the start when the Bengal
Star is quickly torpedoed and the crew killed. Biggles manages to save one
survivor called Ladgrove, although he later dies, but
not before he is able to tell Biggles which direction the submarine took on
leaving. Exploring in this direction, Biggles comes across a crashed plane.
Algy and Ginger take off in their plane in order to send a signal to the Seafret but a hostile plane attacks them. Ginger
manages to shoot it down before it gets them. Meeting up with the Seafret and Biggles, further casualties are
suffered. At a council of war, Biggles catches a spy who has come from a nearby
junk. Biggles leads an attack on the junk and captures it. Inside, maps are
found which seem to indicate that Elephant Island may be the enemy base and the
junk was taking further supplies to the Island. The junk is scuttled and its
crew marooned. Biggles and Ginger set off on a recognisance mission to Elephant
Island. Splitting up, Ginger discovers a submarine base hidden in a cave in a
cliff whilst Biggles is pursued by hostile natives. Both Ginger and Biggles
escape to rendezvous with the Seafret but it
doesn't arrive. Algy arrives in the Nemesis to say that the Seafret has been torpedoed but the Captain managed
to beach her to avoid her sinking. Biggles and Ginger return to investigate the
submarine base and finding a supply of mines, they lay one in the entrance
cave. However, they are trapped by the unexpected return of a submarine, which
sets the mine off. Biggles and Ginger then have a desperate fight to get out of
the enemy submarine base. Meanwhile, the RAF has been called up for an aerial
attack and they bombard Elephant Island setting off the supplies of gas bombs
kept there by the enemy. The base is destroyed and Biggles returns to England,
his mission a success.
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Biggles - Air Commodore
Publication Details - published by Oxford University Press
Frontispiece
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