Biggles Learns to Fly started life as 12 separate short stories published individually in The Modern Boy between April-June 1934. In November 1935, the stories were gathered and published over 24 chapters in paperback form by the Boy's Friend Library with "Flying Officer W. E. Johns" as the author. Even this first book edition deviated significantly from the original Modern Boy version. One of the stories, Knights of the Sky was moved from its original sequence to the end of the book, and heavily edited to make it fit.
Learns to Fly was not seen again until 1955 when Brockhampton republished a edited version which comprised only 16 chapters. One story, Spy in the Sky was left out totally as it had already been used in Biggles of 266. Subsequent editions by Armada, Red Fox varied in their adherence to the original format.
In 2010, Norman Wright republished Learns to Fly in a format which, barring minor editing, is the closest approach to the text as originally published in The Modern boy.
Synopsis[]
The format of the book has morphed significantly between editions as to almost become wholly different books. See the table below which matches the content:
| Modern Boy | Boys' Friend Library | Brockhampton | Red Fox |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biggles Learns to Fly! | 1. First Time Up! 2. Landed - But Lost! |
1. First Time Up! 2. Landed - But Lost |
1.1. First Time Up! 2. Landed - But Lost |
| Biggles' First Flight | 3. The Boat for France 4. Battle |
3. The Boat for France 4. Battle |
3. The Boat for France 4. Battle |
| Biggles the Scout | 5. Plots and Plans 6. Late for Dinner |
5. Plots and Plans 6. Late for Dinner |
5. Plots and Plans 6. Late for Dinner |
| Spy in the Sky | 7. The Lost Airman! 8. Snow and Bullets |
(omitted) | (omitted) |
| Crashed Flyers! | 9. A Daring Stunt 10. A Line of Bayonets! |
7. A Daring Stunt (= BFL Ch. 9 & 10) | 7. A Daring Stunt (= BFL Ch. 9 & 10) |
| Knights of the Sky | (edited and sent to the end as "The Dawn Patrol") | (edited and sent to the end as "The Dawn Patrol") | 8. The Dawn Patrol (brought back here but with the newer title) |
| The Laughing Spy | 11. Biggles' Special Mission 12. The Decoy |
8. Special Mission (= BFL Ch. 11 & 12) | 9. Special Mission (= BFL Ch. 11 & 12) |
| Biggles' Bulls-Eye | 13. Eyes of the Guns 14. Neck or Nothing! |
9. Eyes of the Guns (= BFL Ch. 13 & 14) | 10. Eyes of the Guns (= BFL Ch. 13 & 14) |
| Biggles Buys the Sky | 15. A Perforated Wreck 16. The Black Crossed Enemy |
10. The Camera (= BFL Ch. 15 & 16) | 11. The Camera (= BFL Ch. 15 & 16) |
| Biggles' Big Battle | 17. Ready for the "Show"! 18. "Share This Amongst You!" |
11. The "Show" 12. Dirty Work |
12. The "Show" 13. Dirty Work |
| Biggles' Surprise Packet | 19. The Pup's First Flight 20. Caught Napping |
13. The Pup's First Flight 14. Caught Napping |
14. The Pup's First Flight 15. Caught Napping |
| Biggles' Revenge | 21. The Yellow Hun 22. "I Got Him!" |
15. The Yellow Hun (= BFL Ch. 21 & 22) | 16. The Yellow Hun (= BFL Ch. 21 & 22) |
| 23. The Dawn Patrol 24. The Stranded Pup |
16. The Dawn Patrol (= BFL Ch. 23 & 24) |
The Armada edition followed the chapter arrangement and chapter headings of the Brockhampton edition.
Red Fox followed the chapter arrangement and chapter headings of the Brockhampton and Armada editions, except in one important respect: The Dawn Patrol was reverted to the original text as found in the Modern Boy and reinserted into its proper place before Special Mission. But it did not revert to the original title of Knights of the Sky. The story Spy in the Sky was still left out.
The Norman Wright edition followed the arrangement of the stories as found in Modern Boy, using the original story titles and presenting them in the order they were published.
Research Notes[]
References to the past[]
Chronology[]
The stories in Biggles Learns to Fly take place between late September 1916 and around July 1917, There are many anachronisms in the book Some are quite insignificant, but others are substantive:
- A tiny error: in Biggles the Scout (Late for Dinner), supposedly 3 weeks after "late September 1916", Biggles sees a crescent moon in the evening shortly after dark. There was no such crescent moon until October 28th, 4 weeks after the end of September.
- In Crashed Flyers (A Daring Stunt), a story that apparently takes place in (or near) late October 1916, the text refers to Richthofen grouping three squadrons together (i.e. a Jagdgeschwader). This did not happen for another ten months. In October 1916, Richthofen was barely an ace, and he was a pilot of Jagdstaffel 2 under the command of Oswald Boelcke. A far better fit would be Boelcke's forming of Jagdstaffeln from the small KEK units which preceded them. This happened at exactly this time.
- Throughout the book, Biggles encounters massed formations of as many as 30 Fokker Dr.I Triplanes. This is impossible during the time period covered by the book, as the first two Fokker Triplane prototypes did not get to the front until August 1917, a month after the time period the book covers. Also, no German Jagdstaffel was fully equipped with the Dr.I until 1918, and no Jagdgeschwader was ever equipped purely with Fokker Triplanes. The actual aircraft encountered during this time would have been Albatros D.IIs, D.IIIs and D.Vs.
- Another small error: the stories mention Sopwith Pups being used by the R.F.C as early as October 1916. Pups were only used by the R.N.A.S. at this time. The first R.F.C. squadron to use Pups did not arrive in France until December.
Editions[]
1st Edition Boy's Friend Library No 469
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International titles[]
- French: Biggles fait ses premières armes (Presses de la Cité 1956)
- Swedish: Biggles i strid (Wahlströms 1958)
- Norwegian: Biggles går til angrep (Mørtensen 1992)
- Czech: Bigglesův křest ohněm (Riopress 1995)
- French (Belgium): Biggles élève pilote (Ananké in Biggles l'Intégrale 1 omnibus 2001)