THE RESCUE FLIGHT

by Captain W. E. Johns

X. A DANGEROUS MISSION (Pages 120 – 129)

“A week had elapsed since Forty had made his daring and courageous offer to Major Raymond”. “Three days after the conversation in the squadron office, Major Raymond had called another meeting, at which he had reported the decision of the higher command to permit the ‘Rescue Flight’ – as it was now called – to be formed; and, in accordance with this decision, he had invited Forty and Biggles to put their heads together and submit to him a plan of the suggested procedure. This they had done, Thirty, Rip, Algy, and Mahoney attending the discussion. The scheme which had been evolved was simple. With the assistance of the map, and one or two risky excursions over Germany, three lonely areas where landings could be made had been selected. These were some distance from each other, and had been labelled aerodromes A, B, and C. Landings had actually been made at these places to confirm their suitability, the time chosen – as on the occasion when they had rescued Forty – being the break of dawn. A provisional rescue flight had been formed consisting of Biggles, Algy, Thirty, and Rip. Mahoney was not included, although to his flight had been allocated the duty of flying out to meet returning machines and escorting them home. Forty, flying under an assumed name, was to allow himself to be recaptured. In the prison camp he was to tell officers whom he could trust implicitly the positions of the landing-grounds. Thus, should they succeed in getting out of the prison camps they could make for the nearest one with a fair hope of being picked up in a short time, since the rescue flight was to visit each landing-ground once a week”. Food would be hidden in the northern hedge of each field and the signal that someone was there was to leave out a piece of newspaper on the outskirts of the field. This would prevent an unnecessary landing. Eight machines take off, being Thirty and Rip in the Bristol, escorted by Biggles and Algy and Forty, who has to fake a crash behind enemy lines and also Mahoney and his flight above to protect them. Over the lines, Biggles deliberately engages with five German Albatrosses. Two of the Germans collide wing-tips and one goes spinning down but the other cuts his engine and goes down under control. The other three Germans soon flee but Forty pretends to go down as if not completely in control and crash lands in a hedge in a field. He gets out and fires his Very pistol into his petrol tank and burns the plane. (Forty ran clear as flames enveloped the whole machine - is the illustration on page 127). The others return to their aerodrome where Biggles consoles Thirty that they will see his brother again shortly, but it will have to be at least a fortnight before the first patrol goes out to get anyone to give them time to escape.