BIGGLES IN THE ORIENT

By Captain W. E. Johns

II. HAUNTED SKIES (Pages 17 - 28)

The British are losing planes inexplicably. Perfectly good aeroplanes with good pilots are just falling out of the sky. There is no explanation why. Nobody affected by what may be a new Japanese secret weapon has survived to say what has happened. The trouble first occurred on the air route between India and Chungking in China. Now it is here at Dum Dum and it is also happening in Madras and Ceylon. Sometimes pilots make an uneventful flight, other times they vanish. No radio distress signals are ever sent. No enemy fighters are ever seen. This is having a devastating effect on morale. Pilots are getting jumpy. Biggles asks if the interference applies to both ends of the route. He is told that pilots coming back from China to India have been fine. Everyone is stumped and Biggles is asked to do whatever he can.