“The Sky Raider Pt1″ by Donald E. Keyhoe
Donald E. Keyhoe took up writing while recouperating from an arm injury he sustained in a plane crash in 1922 while serving in with the Marines in Guam. Primarily just to pass the time while convalesing, he found he was good at writing, selling several stories to Weird Tales. Keyhoe’s injury forced him to leave the military in 1923, whereupon he went to work for the National Geodetic Survey and the U.S. Department of Commerce. He kept his hand in aviation, though, by managing a national Good Will Tour of the 48 States by Charles Lindbergh in 1927.
Keyhoe’s first book was about flying Charles Lindbergh around the states on his tour. Published in 1928, Flying with Lindbergh was an instant success. Between the tour and the book, Keyhoe was becoming a household name. So it only makes sense that the newspapers would come calling. Newspapers were constantly looking for ways to boost and maintain their readership. And what better way than to serialize novels of the day. In 1929 Keyhoe wrote a story as modern as the times it was written in. Set against the world of the burgeoning Air Mail service, Dick Trent is a young idealistic flyer on his first day as a Air Mail pilot who soon finds himself involved in a web of love, larceny and murder!
Check out the half-page spread The Ottawa Journal gave the first installment of Donald E. Keyhoe’s The Sky Raider when they ran the series starting March 30th, 1929.
And come back on Monday for the next installment and each subsequent Monday, Wednesday and Friday until we reach the exciting conclusion!
It’s almost here. . . .
After you’ve done your Christmas shopping and eaten your Thanksgiving leftovers, settle down to the first installment of our serialized drama—The Sky Raider! Here is some promotion from back at the time. From the front page of The Ironwood Daily Globe, Ironwood, MI the Monday before the serial started:
Donald E. Keyhoe, the flying ace, writes from his own remarkable experiences the first thrilling mystery serial of crime in the air, “The Sky Raider.”
Colonel Lindbergh recognized Keyhoe’s unusual skill and fearlessness by selecting him as his flying aide on his great ‘Round America Tour. Keyhoe is not only a pioneer in the world’s newest adventure the conquest of the air, but he is the first to write a mystery story of the skies.
Colonel Lindbergh’s flying aide has written a gripping story of romance, adventure, mystery, devotion and death in “The Sky Raider.” Don’t miss the first of many thrills coming to you soon in The Daily Globe.
We’ll be presenting the first two chapters Friday! We’ll follow this with two more chapters every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until we reach the exciting conclusion on New Years Eve!
Ad for Donald E. Keyhoe’s “The Sky Raider” from The Ironwood Daily Globe
(Ironwood, MI; Saturday. August 10, 1929)
Coming Soon. . . .
Starting next Friday we’re embarking on something new here at Age of Aces. We’re going to be posting a serialized story by Donald E Keyhoe that ran in newspapers back in 1929—The Sky Raider!
Ad for Donald E. Keyhoe’s “The Sky Raider” from The Ottawa Journal
(Ottawa, Ontario; Tuesday, March 26, 1929)
Be sure to come back next Friday for the first installment!
“The Broken Parole” by William E. Barrett
William E. Barrett is an excellent author. Known for such classics as The Left Hand of God, Lillies of the Field, and our own The Iron Ace! In honor of William E. Barrett’s birthday this past weekend, we have for you a tale of broken wings from the January 1933 issue of Sky Birds. The brothers Cord, one stripped of his honor while the other was honor bound not to fly!
Flying high in a blood-red sky, von Sternberg had taken toll of the lives of many men. Over the brothers Cord he had thrown an even grimmer shadow, for he had robbed one of his honor, the other of the right to fly. But wings can be built that are too strong to be broken.
“Lives of the Aces in Pictures – Part 28: Major Andrew McKeever” by Eugene Frandzen
Here’s another of Eugene Frandzen’s “Lives of the Aces in Pictures” from the pages of Flying Aces Magazine. The series ran for almost four years with a different Ace featured each month. This week we have the his illustrated biography from the October 1934 issue, that famous Canadian Ace—Major Andrew McKeever!
Major Andrew Edward McKeever is the RFC/RAF’s leading two-seater fighter pilot ace scoring 31 victories with seven different gunners/observers. He was awarded a chest-full of awards—The Distinguished Service Order, Military Cross & Bar, Distinguished Flying Cross, and from France, the Croix de Guerre.
With the end of the war, McKeever accepted a job managing an airfield at Mineola, New York. Before he could start work, he was involved in an auto accident in his home town of Listowel on September 3rd, breaking his leg. Over the following weeks, complications set in—he died of cerebral thrombosis on Christmas Day, 1919.
“Lives of the Aces in Pictures – Part 26: Lt. Thomas Hitchcock, Jr.” by Eugene Frandzen
Here’s another of Eugene Frandzen’s “Lives of the Aces in Pictures” from the pages of Flying Aces Magazine. The series ran for almost four years with a different Ace featured each month. This week we have the August 1934 installment which pictorialized the life of Lt. Thomas Hitchcock, Jr., Yank flyer!!
Hitchcock, rejected by the American forces due to his age, enlisted with the Lafayette Esquadrille where he was decorated for bringing down two German flyers. Captured in March of 1918 when he fell behind enemy lines while in a tangle with three Boche planes, he managed to escape by jumping from a train near Ulm and walked 80 miles through hostil territory to reach the Swiss border.
Hitchcock was a whiz on the polo field as well as in the air—leading the U.S. team to victory in the 1921 International Polo Cup. He carried a 10-goal handicap from 1922 to 1940 and led four teams to U.S. National Open Championships. In 1990 he was inducted posthumously into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame.
It is said that F. Scott Fitzgerald even based two characters on Thomas in two of his novels. He turned all his virtues to vices in The Great Gatsby for the character of Tom Buchanan in 1925 and later used him as inspiration for Tommy Barban in Tender is the Night (1934).
Hitchcock served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II and was assignedas an assistant air attache to the US Embassy in London. In this capacity he was instrumental in the development of the P-51 Mustang fighter plane. Sadly he lost his life while test piloting the plane near Salisbury, Wiltshire, England in 1944. He was 44.
“Hans Up!” by Joe Archibald
Haw-w-w-w! It’s another Phineas Pinkham howl. We present another humerous tale of Phileas Pinkham from the prolific pen of Joe Archibald. Pinkham appeared in almost every issue of Flying Aces from November 1930 through November 1943! As if Archibald didn’t have enough to do, he also supplied the artwork for the story.
It was a nice trip. It began with Phineas knocked out cold after a crack-up. It continued with a couple of doughboys loading him onto an ambulance bound for the hospital. And it ended with a couple of doughboys knocked out cold in an ambulance. What do you expect?
“Lives of the Aces in Pictures – Part 24: Captain Quigley” by Eugene Frandzen
Back with another of Eugene Frandzen’s “Lives of the Aces in Pictures” from Flying Aces Magazine. The series ran for almost four years with a different Ace featured each month. This time we have the June 1934 installment which pictorialized the life of that great Canadian Ace—Captain Francis Granger Quigley!
Private Quigley enlisted in 
December 1914 and served with the 5th Field Company of the Canadian Army Engineers on the Western Front. He transfered to the RFC in September of 1917 where he was assigned to the 70th Squadron RFC. By this time he had made the rank of Captain and flying a Sopwith Camel, he is credited with 33 victories! He earned the Distinguished Service Order, the Military Cross and the Military Cross with Bar!
Wounded in March of 1918 when a bullet shattered his ankle, he was sent to Le Touquet Hospital to recover. He finished his convalescence in Canada where he served as an instructor at Amour Heights. Requesting a return to action in France when his ankle had heeled, Guigley came down with the influenza on the way back to England. He died in a hospital two days after his ship docked in Liverpool.
“Lives of the Aces in Pictures – Part 23: William P. Erwin” by Eugene Frandzen
Back with another of Eugene Frandzen’s Lives of the Aces in Pictures from Flying Aces Magazine. The series ran for almost four years with a different Ace featured each month. This week it’s Lt. William Portwood Erwin, featured in the May 1934 issue.
Erwin was assigned to the 1st Observation Squadron in July of 1918. Flying Salmson 2A2s, he and his observers are credited with eight victories! He was awarded the Distinguished Service Crossfor extrodinary heroism in action in the Chateau-Thierry and St Mihiel Salients theaters. And for a dangerous infantry liaison mission at night that he had volunteered for—on his third day with the 1st Observation, he recieved the French Croix de Guerre!
He continued in aviation after the war, conducting a flying school at Love Field, Dallas.
The Dole Air Race of 1927—a race from California to Hawaii. While searching for two lost air race planes and their passengers, he was last heard radio that his plane went into a tail spin and he called for help about 592 miles out in the Pacific Ocean. His plane, “Dallas Spirit” and its occupants were never found.
“Lives of the Aces in Pictures – Part 22: Major Reed G. Landis” by Eugene Frandzen
From May 1932 through March 1936, Flying Aces ran a pictorial feature illustrated by Eugene Frandzen on the ” Each month they featured a different ace from The Great War—telling his story. Very similar to Alden McWilliams’ “They Had What It Takes” which would run in the magazine after LOTAIP had run it’s course. When Flying Aces was a traditional pulp magazine size of 7×10″, it was a two page feature, but when they changed formats and went with a bedsheet size, the feature became one page.
This week we have the twenty-second installment featuring the American aviation Ace, Major Reed Gresham Landis! Landis was flying with the RFC when he scored his dozen victories, all from an S.E.5. Landis was awarded the British Distinguished Flying Cross and the American Distinguished Service Cross. He would survive the war and go on to become chairman of the American Legion during the 1920’s, but returned to service in 1942 where he rose to the rank of colonel—stationed in Washington, D.C.
He passed away May 30th, 1975, aged 78 near Hot Springs, Arkansas.
“Return of the Sky Devil” by Harold F. Cruickshank
The Sky Devil is back! 
Harold F. Cruickshank’s hero of the hell skies over the Western front returns to action once again in another WWII adventure. Bill Dawe had to change his name and lie about his age to join the RAF’s fight against Hitler’s Luftwaffe. Restricted from fighting, The Sky Devil trains a new generation of eager aces, including his own son until the 77th is suddenly and brutally attacked! This is the second of four WWII Sky Devil stories from Harold F. Cruickshank.
Years drop from a natural born fighter pilot, and “no combat” rules are forgottenf as he sheds his role of instructor to zoom through war-torn skies on a self-appointed mission of revenge!
“They Had What It Takes – Part 41: “Lon” Yancey†by Alden McWilliams
We have arrived at the final installment of Alden McWilliam’s illustrated biographies he did for Flying Aces Magazine—They Had What It Takes. For this last article he features world famous navigator Captain Lewis Alonzo “Lon” Yancey.
Yancey became interested in aviation and the science of navigation while in the Coast Guard after a stint in the Navy. He quickly became a sought after navigator making his first trans-continental flight as a co-pilot in 1927. In 1929 he and Roger Q. Williams flew from Old Orchard Beach, Maine to Rome (in the picture at left, Yancey is loading provisions on his plane while German aviatrix, Thea Rasche looks on); and the first flight from New York to Bermuda in 1930. In 1938 he flew to New Guinea with Richard Archbold for the American Museum of Natural History.
He unfortunately died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 44 in 1940.
“They Had What It Takes – Part 40: Donald Douglas†by Alden McWilliams
Here we are with the penultimate installment of 
Alden McWilliam’s illustrated biographies he did for Flying Aces Magazine. And this time around we have that giant of American Aviation—Donald Wills Douglas!
Douglas was an influential American aircraft industrialist and engineer who founded his Douglas Aircraft Company in 1921 which would become one of the leaders in the commercial aircraft industry. He went head to head with arch-rival Boeing gaining the early advantage throughout production during WWII, but then sadly fell behind with the advent of the jet age. Douglas retired in 1957 and passed away in 1981 at the age of 88.
He was such a big figure in Aeronautics that Popular Science also ran an illustrated feature on his life and career in their December 1940 issue. Illustrated by B.W. Schlatter.
“The Hanger of Hate” by Donald E. Keyhoe
In honor of the release of 
Strange Operators, this time we’re featuring a novelette by Donald Keyhoe that appeared in the pages of Flying Aces the month before the first Philip Strange story. Keyhoe gives us a precursor of sorts to his Brain-Devil in Arnold Trent—a former Broadway female impersonator who took jibes and enmity from his squadron mates until at the end he flew into Germany and, posing as a countess, rescued a captured fellow pilot. Enjoy!
Ahead of trent lay the 77th—and escape from the mocking fate that pursued him. But one man who knew his secret waited on the tarmac.
“Fly ‘Em Cowboy” by Robert J Hogan
With the publication of volume two of
The Adventures of Smoke Wade, we thought now would be as good a time as any to release the last of the pre-Popular Smoke Wade stories. This is the second of the Street & Smith stories to appear in Air Trails, following Smoke debut in the previous issues’ “Wager Flight”.
In “Fly ‘Em Cowboy” we find Quinn has just been sent up from Insoudon—just another green replacement with visions of taking down the best German ace on the Western Front, and Smoke Wade concocts his wildest plan yet to help Quinn and win a bet in the process. (Quinn would later become leader of C flight at the 66th Pursuit Squadron)
With the wings of a plane, or the bullets of a six-gun, Smoke Wade could cut circles around his enemy.
