The Unknown Aircraft (Action Comics)

The Unknown Aircraft
Cover Art	Title page of the comic strip
Author	drawings by Arthur de Vine
Series	Issue 5, The Adventures of Biggles comic series
Publisher	Action Comics
First Published	1953
Other Editions	--
Period	Postwar Special Air Police
Setting	Scotland
See all	Category Page of Derivative works

The Unknown Aircaft is the second 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 7 pages and is preceded by the 18 page Skyway Robbery. Both stories are drawn by Albert de Vine. The Unknown Aircraft is an adaptation of The Case of the Unknown Aircraft from Biggles Takes the Case.

Synopsis

Biggles, Ginger and Bertie are sent to investigate an unknown aircraft which has crashed high in the Cairngorms.

Plot

(Click on expand to read)

This adaptation is highly faithful to the original. The main exception is that Biggles, Ginger and Bertie parachute from a Miles Messenger instead of a Percival Procter. Being a short story of only 7 pages, most of the details are narrated with extensive speech bubbles.

Characters

The Special Air Police

• Biggles
• Algy Lacey
• Ginger Hebblethwaite
• Bertie Lissie

Others

• Lowenski
• Stefan

Aircraft

• Miles Messenger
• The "Unknown Aircraft"
• Generic tandem two seat radial powered low wing monoplane

Places

Visited

• The Cairngorms - halfway up the western slope of Ben MacDhui
• Marsh near Nethy

Mentioned

• Warsaw

Gallery

At first, Biggles and the Air Police crew appear to be using a Miles Messenger, which is entirely appropriate. The Messenger was an RAF light communications and liaison aircraft which could seat four. The triple fin is distinctive.

But later note how the artist changed the cockpit glazing to a bubble type! Still a triple fin, though, but the horizontal stabilizer has been shortened.

No, this is not the unknown aircraft (only bits of its wreckage is seen). This is the aircraft that lands at the marsh at Nethy. The type is unknown. In the original story the type was not given either. All we know from there is that it was a twin engine low wing monoplane.