THIS week we have a story from the pen of the Navy’s own Allan R. Bosworth. Bosworth wrote a couple dozen stories with Humpy & Tex over the course of ten years from 1930 through 1939, mostly in the pages of War Aces and War Birds. The stories are centered around the naval air base at Ile Tudy, France. “Humpy” Campbell, a short thickset boatswain’s mate, first class who was prone to be spitting great sopping globs of tabacco juice, was a veteran seaplane pilot who would soon rate two hashmarks—his observer, Tex Malone, boatswain’s mate, second class, was a D.O.W. man fresh from the Texas Panhandle. Everybody marveled at the fact that the latter had made one of the navy’s most difficult ratings almost overnight—but the answer lay in his ability with the omnipresent rope he constantly carried.

Humpy and Tex were out on liberty, When they couldn’t get that they preferred death, but the reaper has a funny way of choosing its victims.

• Download “Liberty—or Death” (October 1930, War Aces)

AGE OF ACES will be back at PulpFest again this year where we will be debuting our two new titles!

For those who were disappointed that the Devildogs took a break last year, you’ll be happy to hear they’re back with a third volume of their exploits. Paired with that will be the volume of stories Franklin H. Martin had in Aces.

Franklin H.Martin’s Aces
by FRANKLIN H. MARTIN

This volume collects the five stories the enigmatic Martin had in Aces in the August through December issues of 1932 including the epic two part Black Hawk of Prussia story!

He is known as The Black Hawk of Prussia, but just who is von Woolrich? Every description of him is different. Some say he is big and dark. Others claim to have seen him—and say he’s short and slight, with reddish hair. Some rumors describe him as a man who can break a laminated mahogany prop over his knee like a stick of kindling wood. Others say that he is esthetic, an artist and a musician—he is said to have composed several splendid arias before the war. Or maybe he is just a name made up to scare little boys, like a boogy-man. Whatever the case may be, one thing is for certain—von Woolrich, is a master-mind spy!

Stories include: Pilots of the Night (10/32), Zero Patrol (11/32), The Death Parade (8/32), Lone Eagle (9/32) and Blaze of Glory (12/32). Also a special feature on Franklin H. Martin’s winning submission to the Writer’s Digest-Liberty $2,000 Short Story Contest and a bibliography of Martin’s pulp stories

Paired with this is the third volume of Donald E. Keyhoe’s Mad Marines—The Devildog Squadron! We gave them a rest last year and they are raring to go in five more Weird World War adventures!

Devildog Squadron: The Mystery Meteor
by DONALD E. KEYHOE

“Cyclone Bill” Garrity and his Mad Marines are back in the thick of things in five more Weird World War I Adventures from the imaginative pen of Donald E. Keyhoe. Those crazy Germans have come up with even more ways to turn the tide and win the war. Whether it’s going to elaborate lengths to convince an English scientist it is still 1915 and England and Germany are in a war against France to get the formula for a super explosive he invented; raining an extremely deadly and corrosive liquid fire down from the skies killing all in its deadly path; or developing a brilliant silvery beam that can cut anything in it’s way to shreds. If that’s not enough, throw in the fact that the Devildog’s latest replacement is a dead ringer for the Kaiser’s own brother and you’ve got all the making of classic Keyhoe madness!

The Devildog adventures featured in this volume are all from the pages of Sky Birds: Hangers of Hell (8/34), The Spandau Cyclone (10/34), Devildog Dynamite (12/34), The Mystery Meteor (1/35).

In addition to these new books, we’ll have all of our other titles on hand as well as our previous convention exclusive—Arch Whitehouse’s Coffin Kirk, and 2022’s two book set of Steve Fisher’s Sheridan Doome! So if you’re planning on coming to Pittsburgh for PulpFest this year, stop by our table and say hi and pick up our latest releases!

We hope we see you there!

TODAY we have a story by Franklin H. Martin. Not much is known about Martin aside from the fact he worked as a reporter on Newark newspapers. He had almost a hundred stories published in the pulps with roughly three quarters being detective or weird menace stories and the remaining quarter being air stories in the pages of Sky Birds, War Birds and Wings. In fact, his very first published pulp story was a brief aviation tale in Wings. It was the “Hanger Yarn” for the month. The Hanger Yarn was a round-table of airmen, where airmen would gather after hours to smoke and tell yarns and make you feel like you’re right at home in the hanger with them!

For the August 1931 issue, Martin spins a yarn about Lieutenant Howdy Dean, a pursuit pilot for the hundred and first who was looking to get himself half a boche—poor Howdy had four and a half victories to his credit and needed that extra half to make him an Ace.

• Download “The Bobtail Ace” (August 1931, Wings)

If you enjoyed this brief taste of Franklin H. Martin’s writing, you’ll be happy to hear that we’ll be coming out with Franklin H. Martin’s Aces—a volume that collects Martin’s five stories that appeared in the pages of Aces in the fall of 1932, including the Black Hawk of Prussia duology. More information coming to this site soon!

THIS week we have another early story by the prolific O.B. Myers! Myers was a pilot himself, flying with the 147th Aero Squadron and carrying two credited victories and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Bert had been in France for almost two years, including two months over the front with the Lafayette, but had no Huns to his credit. He didn’t want to be known as a cloud-killer, but what can you do when the situation doesn’t present itself….. From the pages of the October 1929 issue of Wings it’s O.B. Myer’s “Cloud-Killer!”

They called him a joy-rider, a cloud-killer—and a war going on! Tremaine waited to answer the slight—and a day came when his guns didn’t jam and his motor carried him through to a winged target.

• Download “Cloud-Killer” (October 1929, Wings)

As a bonus, Obie was featured in Sergeant L.E. Jaeckel’s “American Aviators in the World War” column in The Charlotte Observer (The foremost newspaper of the two Carolinas) Friday July 22nd, 1932 (Page 17). It’s retelling of the events that led to Obie being awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

FIRST LIEUTENANT OSCAR B. MYERS.

THERE comes the time in the career of every aviator when he wants to do something that is just a little beyond the assigned mission. Patrolling in itself should provide enough excitement for any one person. The flyer never knows when he will be called upon to give account of himself, whether on an equal footing with his enemy, or whether to engage in combat with formations many times his equal. Considering all the hazards of war time flying, irrespective of the mission, it would seem that the aviator would be satisfied with the common dangers of his profession without seeking the new.

Ground straffing is an art. Successfully performed, it has been shown what a demoralizing effect it can have upon an enemy, yet it is in all likelihood one of the most dangerous of the aerial missions. Men were trained for it specially. Now and then we find one of our flyers making what might be called a noble experiment of this business on his own. Lieutenant Oscar B. Myers of the 147th Aero Squadron was a fellow who obviously preferred to secure his taste of it by the experimental method.

Near Clerges on September 28th the routine of patrol duty evidently became monotonous for him. Several hundred meters below him there were German troops that could provide him with the action and excitement he craved. Accordingly he swooped down upon them and opened fire with his machine guns. If there has ever been any doubt about the combat qualities of ground straffing, here was irrefutable evidence of its merits. The troops, on their way to the front lines, turned and ran in all directions, throwing panic into the reserves behind them who also sought, such cover as was available.

With the retreat of the troops and the incessant fire from antiaircraft artillery showering him with fusilades becoming uncomfortably close, Lieutenant Myers gained altitude to hunt more action. The little fray in which he had just participated merely whetted his appetite for more. It was not long in coming. Some distance to the northward there appeared a formation of 10 planes, one of which he immediately recognized as an observation plane. Now if there was anything Lieutenant Myers especially wanted to bag it was an observation plane, but how to get to it. It was surrounded by nine Fokkers, all determined to protect their charge at, any cost. As if in answer to his dilemma, two American planes appeared at the moment, and Lieutenant Myers drafted them to assist him. The three machines then launched a vigorous attack upon the enemy formation, Myers not forgetting his chief object.

Throughout the hot combat he did little but fight in an effort to drive away the protection planes. He maneuvered so skillfully that it was not long until he had separated three of the machines from the formation and driven them off. His companions, meanwhile, were having it tooth and nail with the other half dozen contenders. Lieutenant Myers jumped in again noticing that the other planes always closed in on their charge as their ranks were thinned. Finally, with a last great effort, the American trio opened up the enemy flight and Lieutenant Myers grasped his opportunity. He banked above the sextette and dived straight at the observation machine. For a few brief minutes it careened madly, then hurst into flames and fell.

• Download “American Aviators in the World War” (22 July 1932, The Charlotte Observer)

And if that wasn’t enough…

For all his many published stories, O.B. Myer’s didn’t really have any series characters. The few recurring characters he did have in the pages of Dare-Devil Aces, we’ve collected into a book we like to call “The Black Sheep of Belogue: The Best of O.B. Myers” which collects the two Dynamite Pike and his band of outlaw Aces stories and the handful of Clipper Stark vs the Mongol Ace tales. If you enjoyed this story, you’ll love these stories!