Skyway Robbery is the first of two stories in Issue 5 of the Adventures of Biggles comic series published by Action Comics of Sydney, Australia, probably around Dec 1953. The story takes up 18 pages and is followed by the 7 page The Unknown Aircraft and then a picture page depicting trainer aircraft. Both stories are drawn by Albert de Vine. Skyway Robbery is an adaptation of Skyway Robbery from Biggles Takes the Case.
Synopsis[]
Biggles and Ginger travel to India investigate the disappearance of a plane carrying a cargo of jewels from an Indian rajah.
Plot[]
(Click on expand to read)
This adaptation uses the basic premise of the theft of a cargo of jewels from an Indian rajah by two crooked airmen but otherwise diverges from the original story significantly. Prince Agra is mentioned but does not take part in the action at all and only Biggles and Ginger travel to India.
The aircraft that Transjungle (Braunton and Mallings) uses is not a Lancaster but a Dakota. The aircraft is not damaged while landing at Browshera. Instead, Braunton and Mallings offload the jewels then Mallings takes off and bales out, leaving the plane to crash in order to lay a false trail.
Biggles and Ginger do not fly to India in a Wellington but in an unknown tandem two seat monoplane which resembles a Hawker Henley. They do not meet with Crane at Calcutta but instead are assisted by Squadron Leader Allen who is at Malliapore himself.
While flying towards Browshera, the engine of Biggles' aircraft overheats and catches fire. Ginger bales out first, but Biggles is stuck in the cockpit for a while. He finally bales out, but by then the plane is behind a hill and Ginger doesn't see it. Biggles believes Ginger will head for the crash site and so proceeds there himself.
On the way to the crash site, Ginger stumbles upon the crash of the Transjungle Dakota. There is no cargo and no bodies so Ginger suspects it's a fake. There are jeep tracks nearby. Ginger follows them and finds Braunton and Mallings in a hut near the Browshera airstrip. They are cutting up the gems--Shrenk is not featured here.
Braunton and Mallings knock Ginger out and then tie him up to a jeep and plan to run the jeep off a cliff. Biggles is up a tree and sees what his happening. He does a Tarzan act with a vine and rescues Ginger.
Biggles and Ginger proceed to the hut. Leaving Ginger on guard outside, Biggles goes in and arrests the two. Mallings makes a break and heads for another hut where there is a Sikorsky S-52 helicopter. Ginger spots him and follows him. He confronts Mallings and knocks him out. Biggles and Ginger then take the helicopter and fly the recovered jewels back to Malliapore.
Characters[]
The Special Air Police[]
- Air Commodore Raymond
- Biggles
- Ginger Hebblethwaite
Others[]
- Eustace Braunton
- Corporal Mallings
- Junab
- Squadron Leader Allen
Mentioned[]
- Rajah of Maliapore
- Prince Agra Khan
Aircraft[]
- Douglas DC-3
- Tandem two-seat single engine monoplane - like a Hawker Henley
- Sikorsky S-52?
Places[]
Visited[]
- Maliapore
- Browshera
Mentioned[]
- Lashapur - original destination of the DC-3
Research notes[]
Gallery[]
This first picture of the comic story has a number of interesting features. The Transjungle DC-3 is shown with Braunton and Mallings. Like in the original story, someone is taking a photo of the event. It is not clear if Braunton and Mallings intended to be photographed but they look like they are posing. Also of interest is the control tower in the background, built it would seem, out of wood. It's entirely appropriate to the context. It is not clear if the illustrator was inspired by a real-life example from somewhere. When the artist illustrates Haneda Airport he draws a very similar structure. See Biggles in Japan.
This two-seater which Biggles and Ginger used for transit is unidentified. A Hawker Henley? In the original, they used a Wellington.
This helicopter which Biggles used is at present unidentified. It looks like a Sikorsky S-52 but the glazing of an S-52 is different. An S-52 normally has 4 wheels but there are 3-wheeled versions.