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Biggles #33
Biggles: The Second Case
The case of the pirate U-boat!
Air Commodore Raymond has a thrilling new case for Biggles, Ginger, Algy and Bertie, now the Scotland Yard Air Squad.
Instead of surrendering at the end of the war, commander Von Schonbeck of submarine U-517 escaped to the south Indian ocean. From his base on an uncharted island, he has been waging his own personal war, very profitably. Among other booty, he is known to have acquired a sizeable quantity of gold.
But there's very little to go the submarine sinks all the ships it preys upon, leaving no survivors. And Biggles & Co. have a hunting ground of a million square miles of air and ocean
Will they find the renegade submarine, or will it continue to prowl the depths?
Has Biggles met his match in the hunt for the dastardly von Schonbeck?
Air Commodore Raymond has a thrilling new case for Biggles, Ginger, Algy and Bertie, now the Scotland Yard Air Squad.
Instead of surrendering at the end of the war, commander Von Schonbeck of submarine U-517 escaped to the south Indian ocean. From his base on an uncharted island, he has been waging his own personal war, very profitably. Among other booty, he is known to have acquired a sizeable quantity of gold.
But there's very little to go the submarine sinks all the ships it preys upon, leaving no survivors. And Biggles & Co. have a hunting ground of a million square miles of air and ocean
Will they find the renegade submarine, or will it continue to prowl the depths?
Has Biggles met his match in the hunt for the dastardly von Schonbeck?
164 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 1948
About the author
W.E. Johns
719 books119 followersInvariably known as Captain W.E. Johns, William Earl Johns was born in Bengeo, Hertfordshire, England. He was the son of Richard Eastman Johns, a tailor, and Elizabeth Johns (née Earl), the daughter of a master butcher. He had a younger brother, Russell Ernest Johns, who was born on 24 October 1895.
He went to Hertford Grammar School where he was no great scholar but he did develop into a crack shot with a rifle. This fired his early ambition to be a soldier. He also attended evening classes at the local art school.
In the summer of 1907 he was apprenticed to a county municipal surveyor where he remained for four years and then in 1912 he became a sanitary inspector in Swaffham, Norfolk. Soon after taking up this appointment, his father died of tuberculosis at the age of 47.
On 6 October 1914 he married Maude Penelope Hunt (1882–1961), the daughter of the Reverend John Hunt, the vicar at Little Dunham in Norfolk. The couple had one son, William Earl Carmichael Johns, who was born in March 1916.
With war looming he joined the Territorial Army as a Private in the King's Own Royal Regiment (Norfolk Yeomanry), a cavalry regiment. In August 1914 his regiment was mobilised and was in training and on home defence duties until September 1915 when they received embarkation orders for duty overseas.
He fought at Gallipoli and in the Suez Canal area and, after moving to the Machine gun Corps, he took part in the spring offensive in Salonika in April 1917. He contracted malaria and whilst in hospital he put in for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps and on 26 September 1917, he was given a temporary commission as a Second Lieutenant and posted back to England to learn to fly, which he did at No. 1 School of Aeronautics at Reading, where he was taught by a Captain Ashton.
He was posted to No. 25 Flying Training School at Thetford where he had a charmed existence, once writing off three planes in three days. He moved to Yorkshire and was then posted to France and while on a bombing raid to Mannheim his plane was shot down and he was wounded. Captured by the Germans, he later escaped before being reincarcerated where he remained until the war ended.
He went to Hertford Grammar School where he was no great scholar but he did develop into a crack shot with a rifle. This fired his early ambition to be a soldier. He also attended evening classes at the local art school.
In the summer of 1907 he was apprenticed to a county municipal surveyor where he remained for four years and then in 1912 he became a sanitary inspector in Swaffham, Norfolk. Soon after taking up this appointment, his father died of tuberculosis at the age of 47.
On 6 October 1914 he married Maude Penelope Hunt (1882–1961), the daughter of the Reverend John Hunt, the vicar at Little Dunham in Norfolk. The couple had one son, William Earl Carmichael Johns, who was born in March 1916.
With war looming he joined the Territorial Army as a Private in the King's Own Royal Regiment (Norfolk Yeomanry), a cavalry regiment. In August 1914 his regiment was mobilised and was in training and on home defence duties until September 1915 when they received embarkation orders for duty overseas.
He fought at Gallipoli and in the Suez Canal area and, after moving to the Machine gun Corps, he took part in the spring offensive in Salonika in April 1917. He contracted malaria and whilst in hospital he put in for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps and on 26 September 1917, he was given a temporary commission as a Second Lieutenant and posted back to England to learn to fly, which he did at No. 1 School of Aeronautics at Reading, where he was taught by a Captain Ashton.
He was posted to No. 25 Flying Training School at Thetford where he had a charmed existence, once writing off three planes in three days. He moved to Yorkshire and was then posted to France and while on a bombing raid to Mannheim his plane was shot down and he was wounded. Captured by the Germans, he later escaped before being reincarcerated where he remained until the war ended.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 11, 2017
Another rip-roaring adventure featuring Biggles and his chums Algie, Bertie and Ginger as this time they chase all over the South Indian Ocean to try and track down the German von Schonbeck in his submarine U-517.
The war is over but von Schonbeck has managed to send every ship which he had intercepted to the bottom of the ocean while murdering every man, woman and child aboard in cold blood and into the bargain managing to steal five million pounds worth of gold. His ploy was to stop the ships, order the crew and passengers into the boats, having stated his intention to sink the ship, steal the gold and then turn his U-boat's machine guns on the helpless life-boats.
Air Commodore Raymond not only wants to bring him to justice but also wants the gold recovered so Biggles and his pals set out to try and locate von Schonbeck in the South Indian Ocean. It is no easy task for as Biggles states, 'It is like looking for a needle in a haystack.' The problem is that there are a group of islands, originally discovered in 1762, which very few people have seen let alone landed on. And any one of them might be von Shonbeck's island, where he is hiding the gold and gaining hidden anchorage.
St Paul Island, Prince Edward Island, Macdonald Island, Penguin Island, the Heard Islands and others are considered too inaccessible to be the German's base. But some in the Apostle Group are large enough to be a good retreat and Biggles considers that the most likely to be the one von Shonbeck heads for is Kerguelen Island, which is 45 miles long by eight miles wide. The search is, therefore, focussed on that island.
The problem with Kerguelen is that there is no communication with anywhere and it is 2,100 miles from the nearest inhabited land. But, undaunted Biggles heads that way with two amphibian aircraft. Nearing their destination they spot a Norwegian whaler and some of the sailors on board wave to the passing aircraft but Biggles is suspicious that they are not as friendly as they appear - and as it turns out, he is right to be so.
Finally managing to land on Kerguelen the crew spot signs of recent life and thus begins a great adventure of cat and mouse as each party tries to outfox and shoot up the other. Flitting between Kerguelen and another nearby uninhabited island the tension and excitement mounts and culminates in a dramatic showdown in which lives are lost on the German side but, even though Biggles, Algie, Bertie and Ginger suffer at times and even look as though they might lose their lives, they do not and eventually the quartet turn up triumphant.
Back in London Air Commodore Raymond is exultant and allows Biggles and his men to relax for a short time with Biggles declaring to Raymond, 'As far as we're concerned it's all washed up. Think of something new.' 'I might just be able to do that,' comments Raymond to which Biggles replies, 'But not today I hope?' 'All right - we'll leave it until tomorrow,' says Raymond laughingly and that is exactly what they do!
The war is over but von Schonbeck has managed to send every ship which he had intercepted to the bottom of the ocean while murdering every man, woman and child aboard in cold blood and into the bargain managing to steal five million pounds worth of gold. His ploy was to stop the ships, order the crew and passengers into the boats, having stated his intention to sink the ship, steal the gold and then turn his U-boat's machine guns on the helpless life-boats.
Air Commodore Raymond not only wants to bring him to justice but also wants the gold recovered so Biggles and his pals set out to try and locate von Schonbeck in the South Indian Ocean. It is no easy task for as Biggles states, 'It is like looking for a needle in a haystack.' The problem is that there are a group of islands, originally discovered in 1762, which very few people have seen let alone landed on. And any one of them might be von Shonbeck's island, where he is hiding the gold and gaining hidden anchorage.
St Paul Island, Prince Edward Island, Macdonald Island, Penguin Island, the Heard Islands and others are considered too inaccessible to be the German's base. But some in the Apostle Group are large enough to be a good retreat and Biggles considers that the most likely to be the one von Shonbeck heads for is Kerguelen Island, which is 45 miles long by eight miles wide. The search is, therefore, focussed on that island.
The problem with Kerguelen is that there is no communication with anywhere and it is 2,100 miles from the nearest inhabited land. But, undaunted Biggles heads that way with two amphibian aircraft. Nearing their destination they spot a Norwegian whaler and some of the sailors on board wave to the passing aircraft but Biggles is suspicious that they are not as friendly as they appear - and as it turns out, he is right to be so.
Finally managing to land on Kerguelen the crew spot signs of recent life and thus begins a great adventure of cat and mouse as each party tries to outfox and shoot up the other. Flitting between Kerguelen and another nearby uninhabited island the tension and excitement mounts and culminates in a dramatic showdown in which lives are lost on the German side but, even though Biggles, Algie, Bertie and Ginger suffer at times and even look as though they might lose their lives, they do not and eventually the quartet turn up triumphant.
Back in London Air Commodore Raymond is exultant and allows Biggles and his men to relax for a short time with Biggles declaring to Raymond, 'As far as we're concerned it's all washed up. Think of something new.' 'I might just be able to do that,' comments Raymond to which Biggles replies, 'But not today I hope?' 'All right - we'll leave it until tomorrow,' says Raymond laughingly and that is exactly what they do!
March 28, 2014
“By gosh! There’s the sub!” cried Ginger suddenly. “She’s there! We’ve got her!” Biggles said nothing. (p243)
Ginger Hebblethwaite is the most excitable of the Biggles gang, eternally youthful, exuberant and modern, sometimes prone to using American slang. Handily on one occasion he happens to be wearing crepe rubber soles in the Himalayas when his stodgier colleagues are sporting all leather footwear. The rubber under Ginger's foot proves an effective insulator against the electric current being generated by the bad guys which is severely disabling his comrades (see Biggles Hits the Trail).
Ginger contrasts nicely with the taciturn Algy, the outwardly foppish Bertie and indeed Biggles himself, who is contained, measured, and a man of occasional cold fury rather than uncontrolled anger or excitement; hence ‘Biggles said nothing’, above, as he prepares to attack.
In the days following World War Two, Colonel Raymond has intelligence of a rogue German submarine annoying shipping in the remote Southern Indian Ocean so he sends Biggles to the remote and cold Kergulen Island. Just before they happen upon the U-boat they make an unpleasant discovery: two murdered British naval fliers, their bodies on a raft, which makes these matters very personal.
Ginger’s reaction to the sighting the stationary renegade U-boat, hard against the rocky shore, is in stark contrast to Biggles determination to inflict as much damage as he can, knowing this is no easy task against a battle hardened crew. But Biggles always thinks a step or two ahead.
This is one of my favourite Biggles stories, second of the air detective selection Biggles Air Detective Omnibus, and a prime example of a duel to the death; this time between Biggles and the villainous Captain Von Schonbeck, Commander of U-517, a brutal battle between boat and aircraft where the villainy and skill of the enemy is barely matched by our intrepid airmen.
A splendid post-war adventure from a popular author at the top of his game.
Ginger Hebblethwaite is the most excitable of the Biggles gang, eternally youthful, exuberant and modern, sometimes prone to using American slang. Handily on one occasion he happens to be wearing crepe rubber soles in the Himalayas when his stodgier colleagues are sporting all leather footwear. The rubber under Ginger's foot proves an effective insulator against the electric current being generated by the bad guys which is severely disabling his comrades (see Biggles Hits the Trail).
Ginger contrasts nicely with the taciturn Algy, the outwardly foppish Bertie and indeed Biggles himself, who is contained, measured, and a man of occasional cold fury rather than uncontrolled anger or excitement; hence ‘Biggles said nothing’, above, as he prepares to attack.
In the days following World War Two, Colonel Raymond has intelligence of a rogue German submarine annoying shipping in the remote Southern Indian Ocean so he sends Biggles to the remote and cold Kergulen Island. Just before they happen upon the U-boat they make an unpleasant discovery: two murdered British naval fliers, their bodies on a raft, which makes these matters very personal.
Ginger’s reaction to the sighting the stationary renegade U-boat, hard against the rocky shore, is in stark contrast to Biggles determination to inflict as much damage as he can, knowing this is no easy task against a battle hardened crew. But Biggles always thinks a step or two ahead.
This is one of my favourite Biggles stories, second of the air detective selection Biggles Air Detective Omnibus, and a prime example of a duel to the death; this time between Biggles and the villainous Captain Von Schonbeck, Commander of U-517, a brutal battle between boat and aircraft where the villainy and skill of the enemy is barely matched by our intrepid airmen.
A splendid post-war adventure from a popular author at the top of his game.
October 18, 2020
Těžká nostalgie 🙂
May 14, 2016
Nadat de oorlog afgelopen was, meldde zich een man bij de autoriteiten van het bezettingsleger in Duitsland. Nog voor de man kon vertellen wat hij wou, werd hij neergeschoten door een andere man, die snel de benen nam.
Kort voordat de man overlijdt, verteld hij dat er op een eiland in de Stille Oceaan voor 5 miljoen Pond sterling aan goud verborgen ligt. Dit is door de bemanning van de U517 daar verborgen.
Tijdens de zoektocht naar dit goud, komen Biggles en zijn mannen er achter dat deze U-boot kapitein er niet van wil weten dat de oorlog voor bij is.
Snel leesbaar verhaal, dat de nodige spanning brengt. Er vallen weer de nodige doden in het boek
Kort voordat de man overlijdt, verteld hij dat er op een eiland in de Stille Oceaan voor 5 miljoen Pond sterling aan goud verborgen ligt. Dit is door de bemanning van de U517 daar verborgen.
Tijdens de zoektocht naar dit goud, komen Biggles en zijn mannen er achter dat deze U-boot kapitein er niet van wil weten dat de oorlog voor bij is.
Snel leesbaar verhaal, dat de nodige spanning brengt. Er vallen weer de nodige doden in het boek
December 22, 2019
Possibly the worst Biggles book I've read. I think them encountering polar bears in the Indian Ocean sealed the 1 star grade. Not helped by Bernie being a moron, Biggles being a moron, everyone being morons.
Background: War is over, Biggles is working for Scotland Yard but is for some reason sent to chase a Nazi submarine in the Indian Ocean, and off he goes. If that sounds interesting, forget it. There are dozens of Biggles books. Every one likely to be better than this one.
Background: War is over, Biggles is working for Scotland Yard but is for some reason sent to chase a Nazi submarine in the Indian Ocean, and off he goes. If that sounds interesting, forget it. There are dozens of Biggles books. Every one likely to be better than this one.
December 8, 2020
What a joy this book was, no wonder young British boys love these books!
Captain James Bigglesworth is no longer flying for war but is now flying for his country. This adventure has him hunting down an escaped nazi who is in possession of stolen gold. Five million pounds sterling of gold to be precise. With his trusty friends to help him he needs to track down Von Schonard and retrieve the gold.
I loved this book. Do very exciting and well written. Can’t wait for my next Biggles adventure.
Captain James Bigglesworth is no longer flying for war but is now flying for his country. This adventure has him hunting down an escaped nazi who is in possession of stolen gold. Five million pounds sterling of gold to be precise. With his trusty friends to help him he needs to track down Von Schonard and retrieve the gold.
I loved this book. Do very exciting and well written. Can’t wait for my next Biggles adventure.
June 29, 2020
Een van de eerste die ik als kind zelf kocht, happy memories! Toen vond je ze nog allemaal op de boekenbeurs en was het echt kiezen, Ik heb mij de keuze toen nooit beklaagd ook al mis ik er nog steeds een paar. Het ganse verhaal over een ontsnapte U-boot en zijn "piratenschat" is zeker één van de beste uit de reeks
April 19, 2024
4.0 out of 5. Comfort read. Available for free on fadedpage.com as it is out of copyright, so I read it on my iPad. Nice little story with ice bergs, bogs, submarines and of course nasty nazis.
March 6, 2025
The plot here is okay, but Johns happens to be in his golden age and the writing is brilliant. Great descriptions of the action, setting and characters. Whilst Biggles' second case doesn't live up to his first, this is good read none the less. 3 stars.
November 19, 2025
I am reviewing the series as a whole, rather than the books individually
The Biggles series is great adventure fiction: we get high stakes, aerial action (in most of the books), and a hero who is endlessly loyal, competent, and calm under pressure.
I love the dogfights, recon missions, and wartime scenarios.
Where the series falls short is character depth. Some attitudes and simplifications reflect the period in which the books were written. There are very definitely dated elements, but considering the era the books were written - overall the series performs well. More than a few of the stories defy plausibility, but who doesn't love to curl up with a good adventure book or 10?
“Never say die.”
The Biggles series is great adventure fiction: we get high stakes, aerial action (in most of the books), and a hero who is endlessly loyal, competent, and calm under pressure.
I love the dogfights, recon missions, and wartime scenarios.
Where the series falls short is character depth. Some attitudes and simplifications reflect the period in which the books were written. There are very definitely dated elements, but considering the era the books were written - overall the series performs well. More than a few of the stories defy plausibility, but who doesn't love to curl up with a good adventure book or 10?
“Never say die.”
August 21, 2019
I was a kid the last time I read a Biggles book, but it left an impression of a distinctive style of writing. A local book fair was the opportunity to give to a good cause and revisit the style of W.E. Johns and remind me why it left an impression.
Set in late 1945 or early 1946, Biggles and pals have left the RAF and are now working for a special flying unit of Scotland Yard. They are given a job of tracking down a U-Boat that failed to surrender at the end of WW II and £5,000,000 of gold in the southern Indian Ocean. This is a children's action story, so believability, good dialogue and character development come second place to the pace of the plot. Compared with the 3 year and massive effort spent looking for MH370 from 2014 onwards, Biggles & co. has extraordinary luck in the same area of ocean. They also manage to land and take off multiple times from boggy ground! Biggles doesn't always have it his own way and there are swings of fortune that see him and lads in and out of danger in alternate chapters. There are plenty of surprises (though adult readers can foresee some).
Much of the dialogue is one-sided exposition but less stilted than I remember. On the other hand, Ginger, Algy and Bertie are effectively interchangeable characters (apart from Bertie's monocle), and even Biggles is only slightly less impulsive and a lot more intelligent than his mates, but otherwise a cardboard cut-out British hero. There is little or no moral dilemma and of course, there are no female characters.
What surprised me was that despite being an ex-pilot (though probably 30 years away from the pilot's seat) W.E. Johns' descriptions of some of the aerial manoeuvres seem unconvincing and wrong.
Overall a very quick read with seesaw luck for Biggles and friends, who succeed in their mission of course.
Set in late 1945 or early 1946, Biggles and pals have left the RAF and are now working for a special flying unit of Scotland Yard. They are given a job of tracking down a U-Boat that failed to surrender at the end of WW II and £5,000,000 of gold in the southern Indian Ocean. This is a children's action story, so believability, good dialogue and character development come second place to the pace of the plot. Compared with the 3 year and massive effort spent looking for MH370 from 2014 onwards, Biggles & co. has extraordinary luck in the same area of ocean. They also manage to land and take off multiple times from boggy ground! Biggles doesn't always have it his own way and there are swings of fortune that see him and lads in and out of danger in alternate chapters. There are plenty of surprises (though adult readers can foresee some).
Much of the dialogue is one-sided exposition but less stilted than I remember. On the other hand, Ginger, Algy and Bertie are effectively interchangeable characters (apart from Bertie's monocle), and even Biggles is only slightly less impulsive and a lot more intelligent than his mates, but otherwise a cardboard cut-out British hero. There is little or no moral dilemma and of course, there are no female characters.
What surprised me was that despite being an ex-pilot (though probably 30 years away from the pilot's seat) W.E. Johns' descriptions of some of the aerial manoeuvres seem unconvincing and wrong.
Overall a very quick read with seesaw luck for Biggles and friends, who succeed in their mission of course.
March 18, 2025
Biggles and chums are in the South Indian Ocean in iceberg territory. Why their supplies come from the Falkland Islands (South Atlantic Ocean) rather than, say, South Africa or Australia, which are both much closer, is I suspect for the same reason that polar bears are popping up on these Antarctic icebergs. Yes, Captain W.E. Johns hasn't done his bally homework - too beastly a prospect one presumes.
This book, written in clear simple English, was refreshing after the 'trying too hard to be clever' Longer Bodies by Gladys Mitchell. Oh, and Biggles does seem to have a habit of tapping his soon to be lit cigarette on the back of his hand.
This book, written in clear simple English, was refreshing after the 'trying too hard to be clever' Longer Bodies by Gladys Mitchell. Oh, and Biggles does seem to have a habit of tapping his soon to be lit cigarette on the back of his hand.
March 24, 2024
read as boy
This book I read as a young boy. Great story then in 1950 a
And still is. I noted a few changes but they did change the storyline. however I would point out there are no polar bears in the southern hemisphere Australia would also be a land contact as well as Soth Africa
This book I read as a young boy. Great story then in 1950 a
And still is. I noted a few changes but they did change the storyline. however I would point out there are no polar bears in the southern hemisphere Australia would also be a land contact as well as Soth Africa
January 18, 2023
Enjoyable read!
Entertaining adventure. Looking forward to reading the third book in the series having read the first two.
Captain W E Johns always writes a good Biggles Story…
Entertaining adventure. Looking forward to reading the third book in the series having read the first two.
Captain W E Johns always writes a good Biggles Story…
April 25, 2023
Good story
It's a fine story but it a bit too long but once you get over that the very exciting I enjoyed biggle in the police
It's a fine story but it a bit too long but once you get over that the very exciting I enjoyed biggle in the police
March 26, 2025
This book was great though not as good as the first book in this series I highly recommend reading this and I know that you will all thoroughly enjoy it.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews