In Biggles and the Penitent Thief, the Lapwing was a 800 ton yacht which Otto Raulstein had obtained to facilitate the escape of his gang after a jewel robbery. The yacht, which was moored at Ichenor, was fully equipped and victualed for a long sea voyage. After Raulstein and his gang robbed the jeweler, they boarded the yacht and sailed for America. Only Raulstein and the engineer Grant had any experience of the sea. The other members of the gang Lew Darris and Tommy Miller soon became seasick in the heavy seas. The diesel engine of the yacht broke down soon after in the North Atlantic and the ship drifted for some six weeks. Finally, with supplies and water running low, the yacht ran aground and broke up on Marten Island off the coast of Labrador, Canada.
Research notes[]
- As seen from the photo below, 800 tons would have made the Lapwing a big ship, well capable of the trans-Atlantic voyage Raulstein planned. In fact the ship would have been a little too large. One wonders if the four man gang, with only two having experience of the sea, would have been enough to operate the vessel. By comparison, the Cordelia, a luxury yacht owned by Otto Brandt in Biggles and the Missing Millionaire was a vessel of only 500 tons.
- It is not even clear if a vessel of 800 tons could moor at Ichenor. Perhaps Johns added a zero too many, and what he meant was an ocean going tug or similar vessel of 80 tons.
This photo shows the Dona Amelia of some 700 tones. the Lapwing at 800 tons would have been larger. Surely too large for the 4 man gang to operate and attempt to sail across the Atlantic with.