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Aircraft in Comics - Pt 3

The story so far...

In 1951, SPIROU, a comic magazine for young readers, began the publication of Buck Danny's WW2 adventures (see "Aircraft in Comics part 1"). The authors, Hubinon and Charlier, decided to get their pilots back to civil life. But the Fans were disapointed. This led the creators of the series to make Buck Danny return to his military status and become a jet pilot fighting again (see "Aircraft in Comics part 2").

In this third episode, our heros are returning to the Navy, their "first love". They will be Aircraft Carrier pilots from now on, travelling across the seas for new adventures!

Aircraft in "Buck Danny" episode 3 (the Navy years)

Picture 1: After a long break, Buck Danny and his comrades are returning to the Navy again. Their first Aircraft Carrier landing takes place on the "Valley forge". Of course, the landing isn't easy and Tuckson crashes his Grumman F9F-8 Cougar on the landing deck...

Picture 2: This one is interesting; Buck Danny is chasing what is called a Tupolev Tu-26. The only problem is that the real Tu-26 is fitted with two turbojets and not six radial engines! It seems more likely Hubinon and Charlier just created a "Super B-29" as the Russians produced a copy of it after the Second World War.

Picture 3: Here is a nice flight of Grumman F9F-2 Panthers. This plane will become the standard jet used by Buck Danny and his friends in the first Navy episodes.

Picture 4: Helicopters are also commonly used by our hero as they can land on every suspect location on the world. Here we have a Sikorsky S-55 which Buck Danny is using to search for a PBY Catalina wreck.

Picture 5: Buck Danny is captured by a former German U-Boat officer who tries to find his lost submarine. As he wants to use the skill of the Navy pilots, he offers them the choice of old WW2 planes!? In the middle of the jungle you can find a B-17 Flying Fortress, a B-25 Mitchell, a B-26 Marauder, a F4U Corsair and Grumman Avengers! Nice collection!

Picture 6: As you can see, the Grumman Avenger was finally used...

Picture 7: Here is another return to the "Glory Days". An unindentified North American P-51D Mustang is firing on a Douglas DC-6B with all his weapons! A few minutes later the fighter will be destroyed by Buck Danny. He will use the DC-6's emergency fuel-dump for that!

Picture 8: Another Douglas plane. this time it's a DC 3 with skis!

Picture 9: Another early helicopter, a Sikorsky S-51.

Picture 10: One of the most popular helicopters of all time, a Piasecki H-51 "Flying Banana".

Picture 11: The Sikorsky S-51 again in a very spectacular scene! That was close!

Picture 12: In Episodes 16 and 17, Buck Danny meets "Lady X" for the first time! This female pilot will, from now on, be the most dangerous and cruel enemy of our hero. You'd better be sure you have a good plane to fight against her! What about a nice North American F-100 Super Sabre?.

Picture 13: While Lady X is trying to escape, two Gloster Meteors (!?) are launching aluminium foil (chaff) to create a diversion. Needless to say they will be destroyed in a few seconds!

Picture 14: Here is Lady X! Of course her plane has no markings... but it seems she must have found a stock of old English jets! This time it's a Hawker Hunter.

Picture 15: Once again, lost in the jungle, Buck Danny is back fighting old enemies: a Kawasaki Ki-61 "Hien" in the mid 50' must have been still in very good condition...

Picture 16: Here you have all the magic of comics! F9F-2 Panthers are firing on old Mitsubishi G3M's... !?

Picture 17: Ok, it's not a military plane. But even with an Aero Commander L-3085 you can fly into the most incredible adventures!

To be continued...

In Episode 4 Buck Danny will fly prototypes! Stay tuned!

All images reproduced in this article are Copyright © S.A. Éditions Dupuis