Biggles - the Golden Era Stories Quiz

Answer: Their ship is sunk and they swim ashore to Barcelona.

It is one of the most exciting openings in all the "Biggles" books. Biggles is supposed to be on a rest cure by taking a cruise on a Greek ship. Suddenly, out of the sky, comes a plane that dives down and unleashes a bomb. Men overboard !

Answer: Biggles & Co

Von Stalhein was apparently killed in a plane crash at the end of "Biggles Flies East" but Captain W.E.Johns knew he was too good a villain to waste. In "Biggles & Co" he is one of the brains behind a series of gold robberies and by the end of the book he shows his callous and ruthless nature once more.

Answer: Biggles Flies West

"Biggles Flies West" tells the story of "Louis the Exterminator" and what happened to his treasure. A young boy, Dick Denver, joins the usual gang of Biggles, Algy and Ginger as they contend with vicious killers and a terrific hurricane.

Answer: Wilks or Wilkinson

It is not just an ordinary airline that Wilkinson sets up. The main cargo is gold and there are plenty of badmen around who want to get their hands on it. Pretty soon Wilkinson needs some help from his old friend.

Answer: a rich haul of pearls from a secret bed of oysters

The number of sea-creatures that make a dramatic appearance in this story is overwhelming and, of course, it wouldn't be an island story without a sudden tropical storm.

Answer: Air Commodore

The book is called "Biggles Air Commodore" and he needs the rank to be able to order an immediate attack when he discovers the enemy secret base. The reprint of this story is called "Biggles and the Secret Mission".

Answer: radium

In this story Captain W.E.Johns strays over the line of the plausible into the realm of science fiction. The enemy has the power of temporary invisibilty and then there is a column of insects that can be controlled by electricity ! He returned to reality in his next book "Biggles & Co".

Answer: Biggles Secret Agent

Lucrania is Captain W.E.Johns' version of a German puppet state like Austria or Lichtenstein became. The author hated and feared the Nazis and so set up a story in which there was a persecuted Jew and a bunch of thuggish storm troopers. Naturally Biggles, Algy and Ginger come out on top in the end.

Answer: It had been smashed by an angry rhinoceros

There is an amazing illustration of the rhino in action. Even the three airmen are forced to laugh at the incredible sight of their wrecked plane. The forced march that follows is no joke but provides one of the best action sequences in the whole series - snakes, baboons, crocodiles, angry tribesmen - they're all there.

Answer: He asks him to start a Maltovian air force.

Biggles forms an air force and naturally the first recruits are Ginger and Algy.There is a beautiful princess called Mariana but the three comrades are fighting for Maltovia because they often support the underdog. Captain W.E.Johns used the plot of the book to point out the weakness and cowardice of the League of Nations.

Answer: Inca

Some experts place this story in the nineteen twenties but the aeroplane used conforms more to nineteen thirties models. The idea of a raised plateau where they find the memorable town is similar to the one Conan Doyle used in "The Lost World".

Answer: Ginger

Yes, poor Ginger ends up on the top of a log cabin. However, his frightening adventure also leads him to the solution of the mystery of the missing gold.

Answer: She is really a boy in disguise.

It is really Professor Beklinder's son who is hoping to evade the Lucrania police by using this disguise. For a while he also has Biggles and Ginger deceived. Much later in the series Ginger himself gets disguised as a girl - see "Biggles and the Noble Lord".

Answer: an enormous crocodile

Crocodiles were much favoured creatures in "Biggles" stories. Sometimes they were associated with the religious ceremonies of primitive tribes. In fact in "Biggles Flies South" Biggles finds that he is to be sacrificed to this particular monster-sized one.

Answer: Erich von Stalhein

It can only be Erich von Stalhein. Biggles has a much more sympathetic view of the German and sees a lot of talent in a man who has been soured by the Germans losing World War One. It is very strange how their relationship changes in the later books.