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The Flying Submarine
Scanned, proofed and corrected from the original edition for your reading pleasure. It is also searchable and contains hyper-links to chapters.
***
CONTENTS:
SUB-LIEUTENANT HOLMSBY HAS TO INVESTIGATE
THE OUTRAGE ON THE HIGHWAY
THE MYSTERY DEEPENS
CHECKMATE
THE SECOND NIGHT
THE THIRD NIGHT
DON MIGUEL O'ROURKE
A MODERN MAGICIAN
THE "AMPHIBIAN"
THE WONDERFUL NUTSHELL
HOLMSBY GAINS HIS POINT
THE "AMPHIBIAN" TO THE RESCUE
AN EXCHANGE OF SHOTS
DICK TRESILLIAN'S ESCAPE
THE TALPICAN AEROPLANES
A SWOOP FROM THE SKY
"WE HAVE STILL THE SUBMARINE"
DON MIGUEL TAKES THE FIELD
THE VINDICATION OF THE PRESIDENT
TREACHERY IN THE AIR
THE PRESIDENT'S CHOICE
THE PERILS OF THE ABYSS
THE AIRSHIP THAT PASSED IN THE NIGHT
HOLMSBY'S RAID
A TRAITOR'S DOOM
A BLOODLESS VICTORY
"I GIVE YOU ONE MINUTE TO DECIDE"
DON MIGUEL'S REVENGE
HOLMSBY'S RETURN
THE "AMPHIBIAN" HAULS DOWN HER ENSIGN
*****
A excerpt from the beginning of:
CHAPTER I
SUB-LIEUTENANT HOLMSBY HAS TO INVESTIGATE
"No, no, Wapping. I don't think we need take action. Hang it all, man, what with all these tin-pot scares about foreign spies, we shall be run off our feet."
"But don't you think this is something out of the ordinary?" asked Captain Douglas Wapping, M.V.O., R.N., of his chief.
"Out of the ordinary? Yes, quite—a letter written by a gimcrack hare-brained pensioner, with the evident idea of gaining notoriety prior to calling attention to some grievance real or imaginary. I know their game. Who is this Lieutenant Haslar?"
"I've looked him up in the Navy List, sir. Retired on pension. He was a ranker, promoted for meritorious service in the Bangwan River affair."
"Oh yes, I remember the man. Garrulous as an old washerwoman."
"But he states sufficient in the letter to justify investigation——"
"Well, well, Wapping, have your way then: you always do, somehow or other. Hang it, man, if I had your powers of persuasion I would have received Flag rank long before I did."
That morning Rear-Admiral Pennington had received a letter from an obscure Cornish fishing-hamlet, stating that the writer, Lieutenant Haslar, R.N. (retired), had reason to believe that a mysterious submarine, owned apparently by a foreign power, had been seen cruising in the waters of St. Ives Bay, and that, moreover, a huge airship, that must have its headquarters in the vicinity, was in the habit of making nocturnal passages overland in the direction of Plymouth.
"Send one of the youngsters," continued the Chief Director. "Have you anyone in view?"
"There's Herne, sir, or Bircham, or——"
"How about Holmsby?"
"Well, sir——"
"What?"
"I'm afraid I cannot recommend him."
"Why not?"
"Personally I know little of him, but James has reported unfavourably upon him more than once."
"A fig for James, Wapping. You let that fellow lead you by the nose, as I've told you before."
"You have, sir," admitted Rear-Admiral Pennington's subordinate humbly.
"As a matter of fact, I know something of young Holmsby. A bit high-spirited, perhaps, but after all, is that a failing? Moreover, he came here with an excellent report from the captain of the Tremendous. Send him in to me, and we'll give him his sailing orders."
Accordingly a messenger was dispatched to summon Sub-Lieutenant Reginald Holmsby to report himself in the chief's sanctum, and in a few minutes the young officer was standing as straight as a dart in front of his superiors.
Recently it had been the practice of the Admiralty to appoint junior officers to the Naval Intelligence Department to assist the commanders and marine captains who had hitherto comprised the combatant personnel of this branch at Whitehall. It was purely an experiment, but since these juniors could be entrusted with missions of minor importance, and would gain experience to enable them to tackle more intricate matters, the scheme bid fair to prove a success.
Sub-Lieutenant Reginald Holmsby was a fine active specimen of the British naval officer. Standing five feet eleven inches in his socks, broad yet wiry in body, and with a powerful-looking face that betokened courage and sagacity, he still retained an almost boyish expression in his dark eyes. At sea he had been popular with his messmates, ever ready for a "lark" when ashore,—a propensity that more than once had led him into trouble,—but at the same time he was devoted to his profession and a hard worker. Having passed his Greenwich exams with "firsts" in seamanship, gunnery, and naval law, and "seconds" in torpedo and other subjects, and having qualified for an interpreter in Spanish and Italia
***
CONTENTS:
SUB-LIEUTENANT HOLMSBY HAS TO INVESTIGATE
THE OUTRAGE ON THE HIGHWAY
THE MYSTERY DEEPENS
CHECKMATE
THE SECOND NIGHT
THE THIRD NIGHT
DON MIGUEL O'ROURKE
A MODERN MAGICIAN
THE "AMPHIBIAN"
THE WONDERFUL NUTSHELL
HOLMSBY GAINS HIS POINT
THE "AMPHIBIAN" TO THE RESCUE
AN EXCHANGE OF SHOTS
DICK TRESILLIAN'S ESCAPE
THE TALPICAN AEROPLANES
A SWOOP FROM THE SKY
"WE HAVE STILL THE SUBMARINE"
DON MIGUEL TAKES THE FIELD
THE VINDICATION OF THE PRESIDENT
TREACHERY IN THE AIR
THE PRESIDENT'S CHOICE
THE PERILS OF THE ABYSS
THE AIRSHIP THAT PASSED IN THE NIGHT
HOLMSBY'S RAID
A TRAITOR'S DOOM
A BLOODLESS VICTORY
"I GIVE YOU ONE MINUTE TO DECIDE"
DON MIGUEL'S REVENGE
HOLMSBY'S RETURN
THE "AMPHIBIAN" HAULS DOWN HER ENSIGN
*****
A excerpt from the beginning of:
CHAPTER I
SUB-LIEUTENANT HOLMSBY HAS TO INVESTIGATE
"No, no, Wapping. I don't think we need take action. Hang it all, man, what with all these tin-pot scares about foreign spies, we shall be run off our feet."
"But don't you think this is something out of the ordinary?" asked Captain Douglas Wapping, M.V.O., R.N., of his chief.
"Out of the ordinary? Yes, quite—a letter written by a gimcrack hare-brained pensioner, with the evident idea of gaining notoriety prior to calling attention to some grievance real or imaginary. I know their game. Who is this Lieutenant Haslar?"
"I've looked him up in the Navy List, sir. Retired on pension. He was a ranker, promoted for meritorious service in the Bangwan River affair."
"Oh yes, I remember the man. Garrulous as an old washerwoman."
"But he states sufficient in the letter to justify investigation——"
"Well, well, Wapping, have your way then: you always do, somehow or other. Hang it, man, if I had your powers of persuasion I would have received Flag rank long before I did."
That morning Rear-Admiral Pennington had received a letter from an obscure Cornish fishing-hamlet, stating that the writer, Lieutenant Haslar, R.N. (retired), had reason to believe that a mysterious submarine, owned apparently by a foreign power, had been seen cruising in the waters of St. Ives Bay, and that, moreover, a huge airship, that must have its headquarters in the vicinity, was in the habit of making nocturnal passages overland in the direction of Plymouth.
"Send one of the youngsters," continued the Chief Director. "Have you anyone in view?"
"There's Herne, sir, or Bircham, or——"
"How about Holmsby?"
"Well, sir——"
"What?"
"I'm afraid I cannot recommend him."
"Why not?"
"Personally I know little of him, but James has reported unfavourably upon him more than once."
"A fig for James, Wapping. You let that fellow lead you by the nose, as I've told you before."
"You have, sir," admitted Rear-Admiral Pennington's subordinate humbly.
"As a matter of fact, I know something of young Holmsby. A bit high-spirited, perhaps, but after all, is that a failing? Moreover, he came here with an excellent report from the captain of the Tremendous. Send him in to me, and we'll give him his sailing orders."
Accordingly a messenger was dispatched to summon Sub-Lieutenant Reginald Holmsby to report himself in the chief's sanctum, and in a few minutes the young officer was standing as straight as a dart in front of his superiors.
Recently it had been the practice of the Admiralty to appoint junior officers to the Naval Intelligence Department to assist the commanders and marine captains who had hitherto comprised the combatant personnel of this branch at Whitehall. It was purely an experiment, but since these juniors could be entrusted with missions of minor importance, and would gain experience to enable them to tackle more intricate matters, the scheme bid fair to prove a success.
Sub-Lieutenant Reginald Holmsby was a fine active specimen of the British naval officer. Standing five feet eleven inches in his socks, broad yet wiry in body, and with a powerful-looking face that betokened courage and sagacity, he still retained an almost boyish expression in his dark eyes. At sea he had been popular with his messmates, ever ready for a "lark" when ashore,—a propensity that more than once had led him into trouble,—but at the same time he was devoted to his profession and a hard worker. Having passed his Greenwich exams with "firsts" in seamanship, gunnery, and naval law, and "seconds" in torpedo and other subjects, and having qualified for an interpreter in Spanish and Italia
First published January 1, 1912
About the author
Percy F. Westerman
260 books8 followersPercy Francis Westerman was educated at Portsmouth Grammar School. After leaving school he took up a clerical appointment at Portsmouth Dockyard at the age of 20.
He married Florence Wager, of Portsmouth, in 1900 and as they were very keen sailors they spent part of their honeymoon sailing in the Solent.
His writing career allegedly began while he was working in the Admiralty with a sixpence bet that he made with his wife stating that he could write a better story than the one he was reading to his son, who was at the time ill with chickenpox. Thus his first book for boys,'A Lad of Grit, was published by Blackie and Son Limited in 1908. As it happened, in the same year, Baden-Powell founded the Boy Scouts movement, which strongly influenced many of Westerman's books. He was a particularly keen supporter of the Sea Scouts.
His second book, 'The Young Cavalier' was published by C Arthur Pearson in 1909, and this was followed by 'The Winning of the Golden Spurs' in 1911 and four further novels in 1912. His work was so successful that he gave up his position in the Admiralty to become a full-time author.
He lived on board a houseboat - a converted Thames barge - on the River Frome at Wareham in Dorset and it was there that he wrote the majority of his books.
During the early years of the First World War he was employed on coastal duties by the Royal Navy, but in 1918 he was commissioned in the Royal Flying Corps as an instructor of navigation. However his wartime work did not prevent his prodigious output continuing as he produced 24 books in the period 1914-18.
He was just as prolific during the inter-war years when he produced a further 88 novels up to 1939. And it was during the 1930s that he was voted the most popular author of stories for boys.
During the Second World War he commanded a company of the Dorset Home Guard. And not surprisingly he wrote to his publishers, Blackie, who were publishing most of his titles by that time, about his service in the two wars stating, "neither appointment seriously interfered with my literary output".
He continued writing to the end, when at the age of 70 he had been obliged, reluctantly, due to a fall to leave his houseboat for dry land. But once again the move and the injury had no effect on his writing ability as he continued his amazing output. Indeed, his final book, 'Mistaken Identity' was published posthumously in 1959.
His books, of which there were 178, sold over one and a half million copies in his lifetime (total sales at his death were 1,599,000). He died, aged 82, on 22 February 1959.
Although initially there was some confusion about whether John F.C. Westerman, born in 1901, was Percy's son, it is now generally accepted that he was. And, like his father, he also wrote adventure books for boys.
Gerry Wolstenholme
September 2010
He married Florence Wager, of Portsmouth, in 1900 and as they were very keen sailors they spent part of their honeymoon sailing in the Solent.
His writing career allegedly began while he was working in the Admiralty with a sixpence bet that he made with his wife stating that he could write a better story than the one he was reading to his son, who was at the time ill with chickenpox. Thus his first book for boys,'A Lad of Grit, was published by Blackie and Son Limited in 1908. As it happened, in the same year, Baden-Powell founded the Boy Scouts movement, which strongly influenced many of Westerman's books. He was a particularly keen supporter of the Sea Scouts.
His second book, 'The Young Cavalier' was published by C Arthur Pearson in 1909, and this was followed by 'The Winning of the Golden Spurs' in 1911 and four further novels in 1912. His work was so successful that he gave up his position in the Admiralty to become a full-time author.
He lived on board a houseboat - a converted Thames barge - on the River Frome at Wareham in Dorset and it was there that he wrote the majority of his books.
During the early years of the First World War he was employed on coastal duties by the Royal Navy, but in 1918 he was commissioned in the Royal Flying Corps as an instructor of navigation. However his wartime work did not prevent his prodigious output continuing as he produced 24 books in the period 1914-18.
He was just as prolific during the inter-war years when he produced a further 88 novels up to 1939. And it was during the 1930s that he was voted the most popular author of stories for boys.
During the Second World War he commanded a company of the Dorset Home Guard. And not surprisingly he wrote to his publishers, Blackie, who were publishing most of his titles by that time, about his service in the two wars stating, "neither appointment seriously interfered with my literary output".
He continued writing to the end, when at the age of 70 he had been obliged, reluctantly, due to a fall to leave his houseboat for dry land. But once again the move and the injury had no effect on his writing ability as he continued his amazing output. Indeed, his final book, 'Mistaken Identity' was published posthumously in 1959.
His books, of which there were 178, sold over one and a half million copies in his lifetime (total sales at his death were 1,599,000). He died, aged 82, on 22 February 1959.
Although initially there was some confusion about whether John F.C. Westerman, born in 1901, was Percy's son, it is now generally accepted that he was. And, like his father, he also wrote adventure books for boys.
Gerry Wolstenholme
September 2010
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 6, 2011
What's the most egregious scientific error you've come across in a science-fiction story? The competition is tough: notorious examples include Jules Verne not understanding how free fall works in From The Earth To The Moon, Larry Niven missing that the Ringworld would be unstable and, my personal favorite, Charles Harness in The New Reality thinking that a single photon hitting the surface of a 45 degree prism might get confused about whether to reflect or refract, and slow down as a result.
This book isn't doing too badly either. A Mad Inventor comes up with a gas that has "one thousand times the lifting force of hydrogen", so you can use it to fill a submarine and make it fly when that's convenient. Everyone who's completed Physics 101: please explain in as few words as possible what's wrong with this idea?
This book isn't doing too badly either. A Mad Inventor comes up with a gas that has "one thousand times the lifting force of hydrogen", so you can use it to fill a submarine and make it fly when that's convenient. Everyone who's completed Physics 101: please explain in as few words as possible what's wrong with this idea?
October 15, 2011
Yes, the first reviewer is absolutely right, the physics in Westerman's 1912 adventure story "The Flying Submarine" is laughable.
But if you read science-fiction for the science (early H.G. Wells, and the less fanciful Jules Verne, to the contrary) you are missing the point: what would happen IF this science were possible? How do humans behave?
If it really offends, pretend you are reading fantasy.
I read "The Flying Submarine" when I was about ten, and already knew some Wells and Verne.
I have read it as an adult.
I passed Physics 101 (really!), and I know the scientific flaws of this book.
So what?
This is an adventure yarn.
It is like a blend of G.A. Henty (adventure in the Empire), John Buchan (spies and adventure), Jules Verne (the Nemo-like master scientist and political dreamer), and Wells (a vision of war in the future, where air power changes everything).
Be sure to note the date of publication: 1912.
It is a book of its time, as well as a book of the old-school of boys'-own adventure, as well as a vision of a future.
In short, two red-blooded English lads discover that mysterious doings on the Cornish coast are linked with a brutal war between two South American countries (similar to the real wars between Paraguay and Uruguay, and others).
The flying submarine is a science-short-hand for developing the submarine (a novelty in 1912) into a major undersea weapon (as with Nemo's Nautilus), and also allowing it to become an armoured zeppelin!
This is not a GREAT book, but it is a good adventure, of its kind.
John Gough -- Deakin University -- jugh@deakin.edu.au
But if you read science-fiction for the science (early H.G. Wells, and the less fanciful Jules Verne, to the contrary) you are missing the point: what would happen IF this science were possible? How do humans behave?
If it really offends, pretend you are reading fantasy.
I read "The Flying Submarine" when I was about ten, and already knew some Wells and Verne.
I have read it as an adult.
I passed Physics 101 (really!), and I know the scientific flaws of this book.
So what?
This is an adventure yarn.
It is like a blend of G.A. Henty (adventure in the Empire), John Buchan (spies and adventure), Jules Verne (the Nemo-like master scientist and political dreamer), and Wells (a vision of war in the future, where air power changes everything).
Be sure to note the date of publication: 1912.
It is a book of its time, as well as a book of the old-school of boys'-own adventure, as well as a vision of a future.
In short, two red-blooded English lads discover that mysterious doings on the Cornish coast are linked with a brutal war between two South American countries (similar to the real wars between Paraguay and Uruguay, and others).
The flying submarine is a science-short-hand for developing the submarine (a novelty in 1912) into a major undersea weapon (as with Nemo's Nautilus), and also allowing it to become an armoured zeppelin!
This is not a GREAT book, but it is a good adventure, of its kind.
John Gough -- Deakin University -- jugh@deakin.edu.au
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews