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Aerial combat over the Argonne tests mechanical limits and pilot nerves.

American aviators Tom Raymond and Jack Parmly enter the autumn 1918 Argonne offensive aboard Liberty-powered battleplanes. Tom downs an enemy Fokker before his own engine fails, forcing a harrowing fall over German ground fire before he recovers control and lands with a wounded observer. Grounded briefly for medical care, he awaits news of his chum Jack while reviewing correspondence from allies resting in Nice.

CHAPTER I → CHAPTER V

Low-altitude trolling forces concealed gun emplacements to reveal their positions.

Flying low above the tree canopy, Jack Parmly and observer Felix Morgan intentionally draw ground fire to spot concealed machine-gun emplacements. Their risky maneuvers uncover a heavy fortress hidden within an abandoned stone windmill, attracting three enemy Gotha battleplanes that attempt to intercept them. With timely aerial assistance from fellow pilot Harry Leroy, Jack drives off the interceptors and drops smoke markers that allow American artillery batteries to destroy the stronghold.

CHAPTER VI → CHAPTER XI

Sabotage threats at airfield hangars parallel the grueling ground advance.

Darkness at the air base brings fresh peril when Tom Raymond and Harry Leroy spot German infiltrators attempting to bomb heavy American aircraft inside their hangars. A chaotic night chase through the airfield ends in the capture of a wounded spy despite thrown grenades and accidental collisions in the dark. Meanwhile, as infantry push through mud and barbed wire to break enemy lines, Jack interrogates captured soldiers to locate a missing child named Helene.

CHAPTER XII → CHAPTER XVI

Night raids destroy enemy strongholds but leave crippled planes stranded.

A night bombing mission sends ten American battleplanes deep into enemy territory to shatter a key German fortress under heavy anti-aircraft fire. Direct hits obliterate the target, but enemy shrapnel punctures Tom Raymond's fuel tank on the return leg, leaving insufficient gasoline to reach the airfield. Forced to descend in the dark, Tom lands near the Meuse River adjacent to the chateau where General von Berthold maintains his headquarters.

CHAPTER XVII → CHAPTER XXII

Infiltration, borrowed fuel, and daring lift-offs secure a child's rescue.

Scaling a narrow stone ledge outside the chateau, Tom and Jack enter Helene's locked room and lower her safely with ropes taken from a bed frame. The aviators siphon petrol from General von Berthold's staff automobiles into their own plane, creating chaos among the stranded German officers. After knocking out an alerted sentry and dodging enemy pursuit, they launch into the night sky, repelling an interceptor to deliver Helene safely to Red Cross workers.

CHAPTER XXIII → CHAPTER XXV

Book

Air Service Boys Flying for Victory

Daring aviators navigate dogfights, night bombing, and covert rescues over Western Front battlefields.

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