Biggles Delivers the Goods

Biggles Delivers the Goods
Cover Art	one of the more interesting cover artworks, the 1994 Red Fox edition.
Author	W. E. Johns
Publisher	Hodder and Stoughton
First Published	1946
Other Editions	3 English
Period	World War 2, Biggles and his 666 Squadron
Setting	Southeast Asia
See all	List of Books by W. E. Johns

Biggles Delivers the Goods by W. E. Johns was first published in 1946 by Hodder & Stoughton. There have been 11 editions altogether in the English language, with the most recent being the 2003 edition by Red Fox. The events in the book take place late in World War 2, probably 1944 or 1945, in the Southeast Asia theatre of operations.

Synopsis

An old acquaintance, Li Chi, has an interesting proposition for the British government. He has a built up a secret cache of rubber, a vital war material, and there is the prospect of more. The British government can have it if they will go and fetch it. The only problem is that it is on a remote island in the Mergui archipelago, more than a thousand miles from the nearest allied air base and behind Japanese lines. Once again, Biggles and his 666 Squadron are called upon to do the impossible--in Biggles' words, "Set up a rubber emporium."

Plot

Note: The sections below contain spoilers. In particular, the plot subpage (click here) has an extended summary of the narrative in the book

Characters

R.A.F. and 666 Sqn

• Air Commodore Raymond
• Biggles
• Algy Lacey
• Ginger Hebblethwaite
• Bertie Lissie
• Johnny Crisp
• "Ferocity" Ferris
• Taffy Hughes

Friends and allies

• Li Chi
• Ayert
• Major Marling
• Prince Lalla
• Melong
• Tapil

Others

• Admiral Tamashoa
• Pamboo

Aircraft

• Consolidated B-24 Liberator
• Grumman Gosling
• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
• Bristol Beaufighter
• Lockheed P-38 Lightning
• Martin B-26 Marauder
• Mitsubishi A6M Zero
• Mitsubishi flying boat - performs photo-reconnaissance of Elephant Island. Johns was probably thinking of the Mitsubishi H.96 flying boat.
• Kawanishi Type 94 seaplane. Ferocity Ferris shoots one down.

Ships

• Lotus
• Sumatran
• Lochavon Castle

Places

Visited

• London
• Madras
• Elephant Island - Mergui Archipelago
• Victoria Point
• Shansie - 50 miles up the Pakchan River from Victoria Point

Mentioned

• Renong
• Singapore
• Rangoon
• Calcutta
• Penang
• Delhi - mentioned as a place where the P-38 Lightnings could be found in the reserve pool.
• Perth

Other Research Notes

Incongruities

• "All my life I have wondered what would happen if a flying boat had to touch down on jolly old terra firma," so says Bertie in Chapter 3. He seems to have forgotten he did see just such an event. It was in Biggles in Borneo when a Japanese flying boat had tried to land at their Lucky Strike base.
• Chapter 14: Biggles tells Angus that Taffy shot down a Kawanishi a while ago. He meant Ferocity Ferris. It's hard to keep track of all the pilots' names and their whereabouts.