“Shanghai Snare” by Arch Whitehouse
In December 1937 Arch Whitehouse introduced a new character to the readers of Flying Aces. His name was Tug Hardwick. Tug was a fighter ace and test pilot for the US Air Service until a plane he had certified crashed and killed his brother. He gave up flying and became a correspondent for the Amalgamated News Service. His first assignment was in war torn Shanghai. It was there that he met portly “Beansie” Bishop, who also worked in China for Amalgamated. The two of them became fast friends and stuck together through all kinds of spine tingling adventures, starting with “Shanghai Snare”:
Just why had he got mixed up in that maddening war-correspondent game in bloody, shell-racked Shanghai? Tug Hardwick pondered over that question. But before he had time to answer it, Fate sent that hardy young newsman to cover an amazing story which wasn’t listed in his assignment book. The stage was set for that story when Tug dropped into the Astor House—and the bang-up action began when a bomb dropped in after him.
“Fate Flies the Breda” by Arch Whitehouse
Here is the sixth, and last, of Arch Whitehouse’s tales of Coffin Kirk and his simian assistant Tank. It was just an ordinary tin can. But before the day was done, that innocent-looking red container was destined to cause a lot of trouble for Coffin Kirk, for the Japanese knew what was in it. And they were determined that it would never reach it’s destination.
“Devildog Doom” by Donald E. Keyhoe
Four squadrons had been wiped out by the unknown menace that struck from above, and in the smoldering ruins of those Allied dromes not a man was left alive. Now in the air before Cyclone Bill Garrity’s eyes four Spads had vanished, and only smoke and fiery fragments showed where the fearful man-made lightning had taken its toll. The drome of the 81st lay directly in the path of this weird, flashing doom from the skies—and the Devildogs would be next!
“Balloons For a Breda” by Arch Whitehouse
Only one green balloon was supposed to be floating above the U.S.S. Marblehurst. But somehow the plans had gone haywire—for there were two! Which was the right one? “Coffin†Kirk had to choose—and choose fast. Because three lead-hurling Mitsubishis were roaring down the heavens! Still, none of it fazed “Tank.†He was always ready—even when Kirk deliberately put a Jap Intelligence officer on their own sky trail and presented him with—a bouquet of lavender!
“Framed Wings” by Robert J. Hogan
This is the last Smoke Wade story that appeared in a Street and Smith pulp. In the August 1932 Battle Aces, Smoke Wade began his long run in the Popular Publication air pulps. Smoke Wade was a rough and tumble Arizona cowpoke, who left the range and became the skipper of the American 66th Pursuit Squadron in WWI France. Flying a Pinto colored Spad he called Jake, after his favorite Pinto ranch horse, Smoke always wore a six-shooter strapped to his leg and made frequent use of it during his aerial battles. He would often get in trouble with his superiors because of his penchant for placing bets on just about anything that seemed like a long-shot. But Smoke would most always win these bets, and everyone from generals to mechanics would be left owing him money.
“Clue of the Breda Brood” by Arch Whitehouse
“Coffin†Kirk and his simian assistant “Tank†once again take on the evil Circle of Death. This time they try to thwart the Circle’s plan to provide the Japanese with a fleet of advanced warplanes that will then be used to destroy British bases in Asia.
“Isle of Lost Ships” by Donald E. Keyhoe
Gil Tracy and Porky Baines, test pilots for Transatlantic Airways, are caught right in the middle when pirates set their sights on the company’s trans-ocean planes. The two adventurers must fight their way from New York to the mythical Sargasso Sea.
“Aces in Dutch” by Robert J. Hogan
This is the third and last Smoke Wade story that appeared in Street and Smith’s “Air Trailsâ€. Smoke Wade was a rough and tumble Arizona cowpoke, who left the range and became the skipper of the American 66th Pursuit Squadron in WWI France.
Flying a Pinto colored Spad he called Jake, after his favorite Pinto ranch horse, Smoke always wore a six-shooter strapped to his leg and made frequent use of it during his aerial battles. He would often get in trouble with his superiors because of his penchant for placing bets on just about anything that seemed like a long-shot. But Smoke would most always win these bets, and everyone from generals to mechanics would be left owing him money.
“Wager Flight” by Robert J. Hogan
In the August 1931 issue of Street and Smith’s “Air Trailsâ€, Robert J. Hogan introduced us to a rough and tumble Arizona cowpoke named Smoke Wade, who left the range and became the skipper of the American 66th Pursuit Squadron in WWI France. Flying a Pinto colored Spad he called Jake, after his favorite Pinto ranch horse, Smoke always wore a six-shooter strapped to his leg and made frequent use of it during his aerial battles. He would often get in trouble with his superiors because of his penchant for placing bets on just about anything that seemed like a long-shot. But Smoke would most always win these bets, and everyone from generals to mechanics would be left owing him money.
“Today We Die” by Frederick C. Painton
The names of the men in that strange, ill-assorted squadron were listed only in the most secret annals of Allied Intelligence. To everyone else they were known merely as the Squadron of the Dead. Americans, British, Russians—even Germans—made up their ranks, and only one bond held them together. They had all been condemned to die! An unusual story of an unusual squadron.
“Scourge of the Steel Eagles” by Arch Whitehouse
“Coffin†Kirk sought rest—but it was stark tragedy that he found in that jungle village at the foot of massive Mount Dulit. For the “death that does not speak†had cut a ghastly swath through that peaceful Kayan settlement—had left but a single horrified native to describe the merciless wrath of the “steel eagles that leap out of solid rock.†Yet Kirk could not turn back. And Fate was beckoning him onward along a path that led to— the fires of hell itself!
“Skyguns of Singapore” by Arch Whitehouse
“Twenty million pounds to fortify Singapore … Twenty minutes for complete destruction … Twenty days to embroil the world in war!” That fateful warning meant that Britain’s proud new naval base was doomed—doomed by the Circle of Death! And when the masked members of that veiled power learned that “Coffin” Kirk stood in the path of their poisonous fangs, they only laughed sardonically. For Kirk was their most hated enemy. Two scores would be settled with a single blow!
“The Nippon Nightmare” by Arch Whitehouse
The moment Buzz Benson flew over that landing field near the Mississippi River, he knew that something strange, something ghastly, had happened. A weird glow filled the air, and a white dust coated the field like snow. And on that tarmac, where men lay huddled and telephone bells remained unanswered, nothing moved— nothing stirred. Yet it was not death that had claimed them.
“Mark of the Killer” by Arthur J. Burks
Arthur J. Burks was a Marine during WWI and went on to become a prolific writer for the pulps in the 20’s and 30’s. In this story, which mixes air war and sports, he tells the tale of middleweight boxing champion Larry Drago, who carries a grudge match with a German boxer into the skies over France.
“Vulture’s Vortex” by Arch Whitehouse
In this, the first of six Coffin Kirk adventures by the prolific Arch Whitehouse, we meet Brian “Coffin” Kirk and his sidekick, a trained ape named Tank. As a boy Kirk witnessed the brutal murder of his father at the hands of a secret criminal organization called “The Circle of Death”. He swore he would have his revenge, and after years of training, he was ready to fulfill his pledge. In “Vulture’s Vortex” he must infiltrate Nazi Germay to find the headquarters of “the Circle of Death”.
