Hello friends and welcome to the Book Graveyard, where we talk about all things vintage genre fiction. In this installment I wanted to talk about some pulpy aviation fiction that I’ve read and do a general timeline of the sub-genre in comparison with the history of flying and what was happening in the world. What attracts me most about these stories is that it’s a world of the past. Not only is it exciting adventure pulp but it is historical. The pilots of these first planes became the equivalent of the dime novel cowboy.
Timeline:
December 17, 1903: The Wright brothers become airborne—briefly
“Flying from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first controlled, sustained flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft. Each brother flew their wooden, gasoline-powered propeller biplane, the “Wright Flyer,” twice (four flights total), with the shortest lasting 12 seconds and the longest sustaining flight for about 59 seconds. Considered a historic event today, the feat was largely ignored by newspapers of the time, who believed the flights were too short to be important.”- From the History.com website
1914: World War One accelerates the militarization of aircraft
World War I became the first major conflict to use aircraft on a large scale, expanding their use in active combat. Nations appointed high-ranking generals to oversee air strategy, and a new breed of war hero emerged: the fighter pilot or “Flying Ace.” - From the History.com website
The Flying Ace pilot phenomenon is everything in aviation pulp fiction and the first two stories I will be talking about featuring Flying Aces.
The Flying Ace sensation is what inspired many of the war aviation pulps to take the archetype pulp hero character and mixing him with real world figures like Germany’s Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen or as you probably know him - thanks to Snoopy- The Red Baron.
Two of the planes which are featured in the G-8 issue we will be talking about are the Blériot (BLAIR-ee-oh)SPAD S.510 and the Fokker Dr. I. (fock-er dray-deck-er)
The Red Baron flew the Fokker Dr. I triplane which was a German plane based off of the British Sopwith triplane. The first Fokker Dr. I appeared over the Western Front in August 1917. Pilots were impressed with its agility, and several scored victories with the highly maneuverable triplane. Von Richthofen scored 19 of his last 21 victories were achieved while he was flying the Dr. I. By May 1918, however, the Dr. I was being replaced by the newer and faster Fokker D. VII (7). - From the National Museum of the United States Air Force
Since the United States entered World War I without a combat-ready fighter of its own, the U.S. Army Air Service obtained fighters built by the Allies. After the Nieuport 28 proved unsuitable, the Air Service adopted the SPAD XIII as its primary fighter. By the war's end, the Air Service had accepted 893 SPAD XIIIs from the French, and these aircraft equipped 15 of the 16 American fighter squadrons. Today, Americans are most familiar with the SPAD XIII because many of our aces -- like Rickenbacker and Luke -- flew them during WWI. - From the National Museum of the United States Air Force
1918: World War ends and with all of the surplus of planes built for the war governments use the planes to start carrying mail. In the Mitch Mayhew book, Unwanted Passenger that we will be talking about Mitch is a pilot that works for an agency that has an airmail contract.
The now skilled battle pilots with no more use for their fighting flying skills bring the excitement back home with barnstorming daredevil air shows.
May 1927 Charles Lindbergh- solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. This is big news in the world and was prime for pulp adventure. One man defeating all odds and in the face of danger comes out at the end a hero.
August 1927 Air Stories is the first aviation pulp published- pulpmags.org
1930s-40s Passenger airlines existed but were only accessible to the wealthy. A trip from New York to Los Angelas cost half the price of an automobile. - From the National Museum of the United States Air Force
1940s-70s non-scheduled airlines first appeared in significant numbers in the United States after the Second World War, as returning pilots purchased discount surplus planes from the government and set up their own uncertificated air services under the non-scheduled charter service exemption in the 1938 Civil Aviation Act. Low overhead and fewer regulations allowed the non-scheduled airlines to offer considerably lower fares than the national scheduled carriers, inaugurating the immensely popular air coach service which attracted millions of Americans unable to afford tickets on the regular airlines. Though the regulatory actions of the Civil Aeronautics Board ultimately extinguished the burgeoning non-scheduled industry, the idea of cheap, efficient air transport endured and by the passage of the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act nearly all civil airlines had transitioned to an air coach model. - Wikipedia
This is where our final story comes in with our protagonist working for Air cargo and independent transport service. This is like a wild west time for pilots. Think Han Solo archetype: loner adventurers taking odd jobs that cross the lines between legal and illegal who themselves are morally grey anti-heroes.
The first story we will be talking about is the very first issue of G- 8 and his Battle Aces which was originally published October 1933. The series was a re-imagining of sorts of the aviation pulp series Battle Aces which ran from 1930 to 1932. The publisher was Popular Publications which was created by Harry Steeger and Harold Goldsmith.
In 1931 rival publications Street and Smith had extreme success when it released the first issue of The Shadow. Jumping on the bandwagon Popular Publications came up with its own pulp hero characters; The Spider and G-8. The Spider was a crime fighter similar to the Shadow but G-8 was something different. It took Popular’s literal high adventure excitement World War One Battle Aces and added in the pulp hero element but instead of a vigilante crime fighter he was a Flying Ace super spy.
The series had 110 issues. Each issue was a single contained novel, and each issue was written by Robert J. Hogan.
Hogan was a prolific pulp author who wrote the series G-8 along with the yellow peril pulp title The Mysterious Wu Fang and a vigilante crew pulp series called Secret 6 which I had not heard of until researching this video and looks to be a proto-men’s adventure series that almost sounds exactly like the A-Team. After the pulps he mostly wrote western fiction.
G-8 and his Battle Aces #1 The Bat Staffel (German for squadron)
Our introduction to G-8 is him being held prison in the Freidburg Castle in Germany awaiting his execution. The Germans think he is a common spy but if they knew he was the legendary thorn in their sides, G-8 they would lose their minds. Unbeknownst to them this moderate size young pilot is not only the super spy known as G-8 but he was captured on purpose in order to get close to Herr Docktor Krueger the German’s diabolical idea man.
After some fast talking G-8 gets taken to Herr Docktor where he tricks him into divulging his master plan. And what is his master plan? Well, inside of an enormous mountain that had been sealed off for years, Herr Docktor has found the mythical giant poisonous bats. He intends to dig a tunnel from the mountain to the edges of France where he will send the bats out over the countryside, spraying their poison and killing millions. And from there, world domination. Obviously.
In a scene straight out of Indiana Jones G-8 escapes through a hole in the ceiling after throwing the poison gas that was to kill him against a wall.
He gets to his SPAD and takes off. But what’s this? He spots two other SPADS flying around. He can see from the insignia that they are US forces. No time to think though because a small squadron of German Fokkers are headed their way. We get a great dog-fight scene and the introduction of the two co-stars of the series, Nippy Weston and Bull Martin.
From here we get G-8, Nippy and Bull going up against the Germans. We get some Mission Impossible makeup, costumes and undercover work, tons of sky-high fighting action, and some serious James Bond villainy.
I know it’s been said many times before but everything we love in our post WW2 story telling started in the pulps. I mean just here in this first issue of G-8 we can see the influences on Indiana Jones, Mission Impossible, James Bond and even Snoopy.
G-8 is a good title for people who aren’t necessarily into aviation but wouldn’t mind a little of that flavor in the story. It is very much a hero pulp and over the top. I mean, Germans controlling giant bats to rule the world isn’t exactly historical fiction. I think this makes G-8 standout amongst some of the other aviation pulps. Like I have read some stories in the Lone Eagle series, and they are rooted in reality; less fantastical than G-8. In fact, I would say that G-8 is geared toward a young adult audience though still completely enjoyable for old adults, like us.
Next up I wanted to talk about the Mitch Mayhew series written by Terrance Layhew. These are two modern day pulp stories in the tradition of classic adventure pulp fiction. Available for purchase here!
First off, I want to take a second to gush on the look and packaging of these books. They are published by Veritas Entertainment. There are two Veritas Entertainment companies. One did the Bob Dylan movie etc. This Veritas Entertainment is an independent publisher, promotor and film producer out of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.
You will notice that they are published in not-dead-at-all mass market paperback size. I love the page count on these. One is 84 and the other is 104. I could read a hundred of these things. They completely nailed the look of pulp adventure. They seem like something from the past. Like I’m going to open it and there is going to be a Babe Ruth baseball card folded up inside a Liberty Bond as a bookmark in there.
Unwanted Passenger is the first in a series starring Mitch Mayhew, former WW1 pilot now turned mail carrier. But not a mailman. Think more like an independent trucker that takes what hauls he can get. So, as you can see per our history lesson, Terrance did his homework also so the history is on point and that makes this even more enjoyable.
Mitch is hired by the Chicago DA to fly to Denver to deliver a certified envelope containing the evidence needed to put the Meadows Gang behind bars. Mitch has a bit of curmudgeon in his coffee and is not really thrilled about making the extra flight to Denver but the man who owns the delivery service says tough titties, you’re doing it, and by the way, you’ll be taking a passenger.
The unwanted passenger on this trip is Kathleen Dumont, beautiful and mysterious and nothing that Mitch wants to deal with.
We jump into Mitch’s DH-4 Liberty plane and head to our first stop in Omaha. We get some Han Solo vibes as Kathleen tries to start up a conversation. I like the reluctant romance and it’s no surprise as I know Terrance is a big fan of Romancing the Stone.
Back in the air to Denver Mitch spots a German Fokker headed his way. Strange but not impossible. Some US pilots prefer the Fokker. But then machine gun fire explodes and Mitch has to use evasive maneuvers, putting his WW1 experience to use. Unfortunately, his DH-4 has been converted to civilian use so no more gun torrents.
This has to be the Meadows Gang who got wind of him carrying the evidence to put them behind bars, right? Who else would be taking shots at a mail carrier?
And there is the set up. It doesn’t all take place in the air; we get some exciting action down on the ground in the Rocky Mountains. The pacing is quick and workman like. Terrence did a lot of work to not only get the historical aspects right but terrain detail, flying know-how, and artillery and he writes it all with punch perfect pulp flavor that would have fit right in with any of the Adventure pulps from back in the day.
The sequel or second installment finds us in Denver Colorado. It would seem Mitch makes it out of the first one alive. That’s good news. In this one we lean more into the ground adventure and criminal underworld. Every character is resourceful and it’s not forced. Though this was written in our modern times, I believe, the characters draw heavily from 80s action-adventure movies. Think Marion from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Damsel in distress but not really.
These books are so much fun and a testament to modern day writers still having the pulp chops.
The last book I wanted to talk about is:
The Wrong Side of the Sky by Gavin Lyall
First published in 1961 by Hodder and Stoughton and then published by PAN in 1966. This is the 7th printing.
Gavin Lyall was a British journalist turned author. In 1951 to 1953 he served as a pilot officer in the Royal Air Force. Drawing on his experiences in Libya and Greece to write his first novel, The Wrong Side of the Sky. It was a hit and he quit his day job to become a full-time author cranking out aviation flavored action-adventure novels.
The Wrong Side of the Sky starts in Greece. It’s never stated but from the historical aspects mention in the narrative I would say it takes place when it was written in 1961.
The story is written in a first-person narrative told from our man, Captain Jack Clay, a pilot of a Douglas DC-3 who works for the transport service, Aircargo. He has a copilot that is more like a coworker than a blood brother which emphasizes his solo nature.
While on the ground he spots a Piaggio 160 Italian twin-engine plane whose pilot is so slick that it could only be one of a few pilots he knew that had that skill. Later in the bar he walks in and is not surprised to see his friend and former co-pilot from the war, Ken Kitson. Kitson has been working as a private pilot for the Nawab of Tungabhadra. It looks like the job pays well because Clay describes Kitson as “dressed like the inside of a millionaires wallet.” Good line!
After a few drinks Ken spills the beans on what the Nawab is doing in this part of the world. We get a backstory of extreme violence and stolen jewelry. It’s an entertaining story but Clay has other things to worry about. Mikkos the local shipping agent wants Clay to take a shipment to Libya. Tonight. Clay knows when something is rotten, so he requests more money. Flying an illegal shipment of guns to Libya is a risk that he should be paid for.
This book, the narrative, the plot, the writing style is rich; a heavy and thick craft beer. You can’t just chug this like a 12 pack of High Life. It’s tough, colorful and muscular, packed full of verbal protein. The glass is poured to the brim so you have to go slow not to spill it. Sometimes I'd have to read a paragraph twice but it was never a bummer. It was always worthwhile.
There is so much going on in this book that even if I did a regular full-length review, I wouldn’t be able to properly lay it all out so I’ll just list some of the facets of the story. We have obviously lots of sky aviation action. Foxy ladies including a woman described as looking like a middle eastern version of Salma Hayek. We travel from Greece to the Libya and over the ocean to tiny islands. There is treasure hunting. Smuggling. Violent gangsters and corrupt cops. Shootouts. Prison breaks. Murders. History. Conspiracies.
Speaking of Romancing the Stone there is a scene almost exactly like in the movie where they come upon a wrecked plane in the jungle completely taken over by the environment. This book is romantically adventure. It’s hardboiled, tough-talking and full of so much macho that a bullet would bounce off of it’s iron hard nuts.
In a way it reminds me of the 1947 Alan Ladd movie Calcutta where he and his pal William Bendix are pilots whose friend is murdered and it leads the duo into a crime filled underworld of international jewel thieves and nefarious femme fatales. Actually yeah, if you want the film version of these kinds of stories go hunt that down. It’s one of my favorites.
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