Biggles Defends the Desert aka Biggles Sweeps the Desert, by W. E. Johns

[rachelmanija]

"I'm no lover of a camel."

This WWII adventure has a remarkable introduction by the author in which he says that most of Biggles' exploits are based on real wartime incidents, and if anything have been toned down:

Again, I should blush to dress my hero, after he had been forced to land on the wrong side of the lines, in girls' clothes, and allow him to be pestered by the unwelcome attentions of German officers for weeks before making his escape. The officer who resorted to that romantic method of escape is now in business in London. In business as WHAT?

Biggles and his crew have been sent to the desert to figure out why British planes have been disappearing while flying over that area. Adventure ensues.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot, because there's a number of really fun twists and unexpected incidents. So above the cut, I will only say that there are fantastic aerial combat sequences (Johns hopefully suggests in the introduction that perhaps Biggles' combat techniques will be helpful to readers who end up in the cockpit of a fighting aeroplane), daring rescues, daring escapes, getting lost in the desert without water, and a camel chase. As always, Johns never fails to lean into his premise; this book has absolutely everything you could possibly want from a desert-set WWII adventure.

When I picked this book up I had thought it was the one where Biggles gets in a dogfight while he has malaria, but it's actually the one where he gets in a dogfight while he has a concussion and almost passes out in the middle of it. It's a great sequence.



There is an AMAZING sequence in which a captured Nazi perfidiously bashes one of the English pilots over the head and steals Ginger's plane. Meanwhile, Biggles and a bunch of the other pilots are stuck out in the desert, having been shot down. They see Ginger's plane fly in, they think to the rescue, only to watch helplessly as a German ace shoots it down! Not knowing a Nazi was flying it, they think Ginger is dead! Biggles then ends up stealing a German Messerschmidt and takes off in it, only for Ginger to assume he's a Nazi and shoot him down!



An anonymous friend sent me this with the following delightful dad joke:

Did you know that the propeller on a small plane is actually there to keep the pilot cool? Just watch, when it stops spinning the pilot will start sweating like crazy.

Thank you, anonymous friend!

Comments

[philomytha]

That is a perfect Biggles joke! This one is a lot of fun, full of adventure and drama and the dangers of flying a plane belonging to the enemy in wartime - I think every possible flying-the-enemy's-plane mishap that you can ever think of happens to Biggles and co eventually. Also this is another great Bertie book, though he is absolutely batshit in the best way, you can see why he's the one who ends up living with Biggles and Algy and Ginger afterwards. And the moment where Biggles is consoling the dying gunner is heartbreaking.

[rachelmanija]

Bertie was so much fun in this book - he's a complete lunatic in a very recognizable way if you've read a lot of British wartime memoirs.

That scene with the dying gunner was so heartbreaking. Biggles telling him he's in his squadron now and he's going to do reconnaissance for the rest of them!

[osprey_archer]

I should blush to dress my hero, after he had been forced to land on the wrong side of the lines, in girls' clothes, and allow him to be pestered by the unwelcome attentions of German officers for weeks before making his escape. The officer who resorted to that romantic method of escape is now in business in London

In business as what INDEED. (Also, I hope someone has written this fanfic!)

[rachelmanija]

Someone has written something very close to that fanfic, and it's excellent!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/40212027

[conuly]

It's the fanfic we all needed after reading that paragraph.

[black_bentley]

You are far too kind! <3

[osprey_archer]

Thank you!

[conuly]

Again, I should blush to dress my hero, after he had been forced to land on the wrong side of the lines, in girls' clothes, and allow him to be pestered by the unwelcome attentions of German officers for weeks before making his escape. The officer who resorted to that romantic method of escape is now in business in London. In business as WHAT?

I mean, would you now? Would you blush, buddy?

[black_bentley]

Defends the Desert is great - Bertie is so marvellously bonkers in it, I love him. And Biggles trying to fly with concussion is A+++. As is the bit where he stands on Ginger.

Re. that introduction paragraph - there was a chap from intelligence during WW2 who was arrested in Spain while dressed as a woman, and to this day nobody knows why. Churchill was sent copies of the photos...

[armiphlage]

When I first heard of that, I thought Dudley Clarke might have been trans, seizing the opportunity to be oneself while in a foreign land. However, apparently costumes and fake identities were a common technique used by Clarke when gathering data and spreading misinformation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudley_Clarke

[black_bentley]

I'd wondered that when I first read that story as well, but it does seem likely that he was working. He certainly seems to have been an interesting man!

[sheron]

This book has two of my favourite sequences.

One is where Biggles flies with a head-wound and nearly passes out. A+ would definitely re-read 200 more times than I already have re-read it.

The other is where Ginger encounters Biggles at the enemy lines, while Biggles assumes he's a German sentry, and tries to strangle Ginger:

With a grunt of alarm [Ginger] scrambled to rise, but before he could do so a dark form had flung itself on him and borne him to the ground; a vicelike grip closed over his neck, forcing his face into the sand. In another moment, in spite of his desperate struggles, his gumbaz was being wrapped round his head, blinding him and suffocating him with its voluminous folds. Then, for no reason that he could imagine, the grip of his assailant relaxed, and the choking rags were torn from his face. Bewildered by the ferocity of the attack, and gasping for breath, he sat up, wondering what had happened and prepared for a renewal of the assault.
‘Great Heavens!’ breathed a voice.

I'm always there for Biggles being ready to do what has to be done, such as strangle someone to keep them from making a sound. It's a very interesting character note about his readiness to commit violence when needed.

[rachelmanija]

Both those sequences are great. I am such a suckered for characters who can be both very ruthlessly pragmatic and very kind.

[sholio]

One is where Biggles flies with a head-wound and nearly passes out. A+ would definitely re-read 200 more times than I already have re-read it.

The head wound sequence is SO IDDY. It's also one of those descriptions that's really vivid and unique and grounded in specific sensory details - the sky going weird and breaking out in a sweat - making it feel like it's based on some sort of actual life experience.

I also love that he's still insisting that he's fine while two men are half-carrying him to a place where he could sit down.

[sheron]

I KNOW.

The h/c in these books is glorious, and that is one of my favourite instances.

I love the moment when he drinks and water slides down his chin but he just doesn't care -- it's very much "that state of mind where appearances don't matter" feel of being ill. ♥

[lokifan]

I'm enjoying all the Biggles on my flist :) I've never actually read any but my dad, British Boomer that he is, loved them as a kid, so it's very entertaining seeing DW's reaction to them. I may have to see what paperbacks he might have around still when I'm home for Christmas...

[rachelmanija]

Let me know!