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.
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.
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.
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.
“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!
“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 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.
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.
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”.
Buzz Benson is a newspaper reporter who doubles as an agent for the U.S. Navy. In this exciting adventure he takes on a secret international syndicate bent on destroying the the U.S. Pacific fleet.
This mail-in contest offered some great prizes to readers who could solve the two parts of the puzzle. The first part had the readers trying to find the flight path of a lost aviator. The second part featured a story by William E. Barrett in which the readers had to identify all the errors in the story.
This story features the wacky duo of Elmer Hubbard and Pokey Cook. See how they manage to get themselves into and out of hot water once again.
In this early Three Mosquitoes story, Kirby, Shorty, and Travis take on a German staffel who ambush helpless Allied observation flights, but run when confronted by any fighter craft. The Mosquitoes’ C.O. comes up with a wild solution to trap the cowardly Boche.
O. B. Myers was a decorated WWI fighter pilot who turned to writing after the war. His air war stories have an authenticity that many writers can’t duplicate. This is especially true in this story of a new pilot experiencing the fear and confusion of combat for the first time.
The hero of our Age of Aces book “Sky Devil: Hell’s Skipper†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. Now, with his son a member, The Sky Devil’s Brood must take on a deadly mission to escort a supply convoy from England to Italy, This is the last of four WWII Sky Devil stories from Harold F. Cruickshank.
