BIGGLES DELIVERS THE GOODS

by Captain W. E. Johns

III. SORTIE TO ELEPHANT ISLAND (Pages 25 - 33)

A fortnight later and Biggles, Algy, Ginger and Bertie, together with Li Chi are flying over the Mergui Archipelago in a Gosling twin-engined amphibian aircraft, especially fitted with long range tanks (a footnote tells us this American built plane is designated J4F-1 in the USA). Our heroes arrive at Elephant Island and to Biggles surprise, they find a large number of workers there, Chinese, Malays, Burmese, Tamil and Dyak labourers. The place had been owned by a timber company before the war and now Li Chi is using the men to turn trees into planks. Biggles has an idea. "I think we could adapt this lake as an airfield for land planes". If thousands of logs are floated on the lake and then covered over with smooth planking, they will have a landing deck. Painted the right shade of blue, it will not be noticable from the air. Biggles says that if a Japanese aircraft did decide to land here it would be a marine aircraft and it would crash. Bertie says "All my life I have wondered what would happen if a flying boat had to touch down on jolly old terra firma". (Johns appears to have completely forgotten that this is exactly what happened in "Biggles in Borneo", the Biggles book written just a couple of books before this one - and Bertie was present when it happened. In fact, the story of "Biggles Delivers the Goods" is remarkable similar to "Biggles in Borneo"!). Biggles says they can build rough sheds at the end of the runway and camouflage them so they look like an extension of the forest. "I am amazed," said Li Chi. "I should never have thought of it. More and more I begin to understand why you British succeed. You have an answer for everything. It is the simplicity of the project that overcomes me". Li Chi says his workers will work 20 hours a day, without pay and without going on strike. Algy is told to take the Gosling back to India and return with sufficient nails and paint to do the job. Biggles also asks for five land planes, Liberators, and a couple of long-range fighters, Lightnings. The Liberators can fly loaded both ways, bring out stores and petrol and flying back with rubber.