The flying chance

In Short

Set against the backdrop of the First World War, this brisk narrative follows Jack Rankin, a naval ensign denied his dream of flight due to a vision deficiency. When he discovers that his ship is unknowingly steaming into a trap set by enemy submarines, Rankin abandons his post to secure a civilian seaplane and a pilot, embarking on a desperate mission to warn the crew. A relic of the pulp era, the book endures as a high-stakes study of duty, technical ingenuity, and the intoxicating call of the sky.

The Story

The narrative opens at a Philadelphia navy yard, where Ensign Jack Rankin is officially declared unfit for aviation duty due to a slight deficiency in his eyesight. Despite his technical mastery and passion for flight, his superiors reassign him to line duty, much to his frustration. Consumed by the injustice of his situation and distracted by a promise to his sweetheart, Eileen—who despises the dangers of aviation—Rankin inadvertently misses his ship’s departure. The gravity of his error becomes clear when the yard’s radio room intercepts panicked, fragmented signals indicating that the destroyer Woodruff is sailing directly into a swarm of enemy submarines.

Rankin, possessed by a sudden sense of belonging to the ship he abandoned, attempts to get authorization to pursue her by air. When the commandant dismisses the idea as a suicidal impossibility, Rankin decides to act alone. He steals an officer’s car and races to Atlantic City, where he convinces his friend Jim, a civilian pilot struggling to keep his own flight business afloat, to join him on a desperate long-range mission. Despite the immense financial risk to Jim and the extreme danger posed by the weather, the two take off in a state-of-the-art seaplane, using complex navigation and drift calculations to track the destroyer across hundreds of miles of open ocean.

As darkness begins to fall, the pair finally locates the Woodruff, which is frantically maneuvering to evade unseen predators. Realizing that the ship is still in immediate peril, they swoop down to engage the enemy. With the seaplane armed only with a few makeshift bombs, they initiate a dangerous aerial assault. Rankin manages to drop his payload, but the maneuver forces the plane into a catastrophic stall. The machine crashes into the sea, leaving both men clinging to the wreckage. However, their desperate gamble pays off: the explosions effectively disrupt the submarine attack, and the Woodruff arrives to rescue them. In the final resolution, the destroyer’s commander commends Rankin’s heroism, assuring him that a formal reassignment to the aviation corps is all but guaranteed. Rankin also receives a telegram from Eileen, which reveals that she has reconciled her fears with his ambitions, finally supporting the vocation he could never truly abandon.

How It Unfolds

The disqualification Rankin is informed by a stern commandant that his vision score prevents him from serving as a pilot, effectively ending his military aviation career before it begins. His protestations are ignored, and he is ordered to await further instruction while his ship prepares to deploy.

The missing ship Distracted by a private visit, Rankin misses his departure, only to discover the entire yard is in a state of high alert. He realizes that by missing his ship, he has inadvertently escaped being on board when it encounters a lethal cluster of enemy submarines.

The desperate mission Finding the navy’s communication efforts stalled by static and equipment failure, Rankin convinces his friend Jim to risk his own plane and livelihood to reach the Woodruff. They depart in a race against time, relying on precise aeronautical math to navigate the vast, featureless ocean.

The final engagement The duo locates the destroyer and initiates a chaotic, low-altitude attack on the submarine position. Though they succeed in disrupting the enemy, the resulting turbulence brings their plane crashing down into the turbulent surf.

The rescue and resolution The Woodruff retrieves the downed airmen, and the captain confirms that their intervention saved the vessel. Rankin returns to duty with his reputation, his future in aviation, and his relationship with Eileen all secured.

The People

Jack Rankin is the story’s driven, impulsive engine. A man of action who views his "unfit" medical status as an administrative error rather than a physical reality, he is defined by his restless need to prove his worth in the air. His trajectory moves from a state of wayward defiance to a focused, disciplined commitment to the service.

Jim, the civilian pilot, serves as Rankin’s grounding force. While he is initially motivated by caution and the protection of his failing business, he is ultimately swayed by the same patriotic fervor as his friend. His technical prowess with navigation and instrumentation makes the mission possible, and his willingness to risk his "last stake" highlights the camaraderie central to the story.

The Commandant is the embodiment of the rigid, bureaucratic naval hierarchy. Though he serves as an antagonist to Rankin’s ambitions, he is ultimately a man of principle who recognizes the weight of duty. His refusal to order a suicide mission is not a lack of courage, but a calculated professional judgment that highlights the extreme nature of Rankin’s independent choice.

In Its Own Voice

“The service requires a full twenty in eyesight, and your test measures up only eighteen.”

The commandant uses this cold, administrative reality to explain why a capable young man is being barred from his dream of military flight.

“But what I mean is, suppose you should miss her entirely?”

The commandant points out the insurmountable logistical challenges that make Rankin’s planned rescue attempt appear to be a hopeless, fatal endeavor.

“This is a two-man stunt.”

Jim accepts the reality of the mission’s lethality, demonstrating the intense bond of trust required to attempt such a desperate flight into the unknown.

What It's Really About

At its core, this is a story about the tension between individual initiative and institutional order. Rankin represents the "flying chance"—the belief that human instinct and specialized skill can overcome the rigid limitations of bureaucracy and medical standards. The book argues that true service often requires the defiance of authority when that authority is paralyzed by caution. Beneath the aerial maneuvers and naval tactics, the narrative questions what makes a man "fit" for duty: is it a set of physical measurements on a chart, or the willingness to sacrifice one’s own life and livelihood for the collective safety of the fleet?

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy the brisk, no-nonsense pacing of early 20th-century adventure fiction will find much to admire here. There is a distinct, tactile pleasure in the way the book describes early aviation—the roar of the engine, the vibration of the control yokes, and the constant, life-or-death reliance on primitive instruments like drift-sets and compasses. It captures a moment in history when the sky was still a new frontier, and the technology of war was evolving faster than the men trained to use it.

However, modern readers should be prepared for the archetypal conventions of the era. The dialogue is often clipped and melodramatic, and the female characters exist primarily as emotional touchstones for the male protagonists. The prose is functional rather than poetic, prioritizing the mechanics of the plot over character depth. If you are looking for a complex psychological character study, you will not find it here. But if you want a lean, propulsive, and genuinely exciting look at the infancy of naval air power, this story delivers exactly what it promises. It is a time capsule of a period when the "flying chance" was more than just a gamble—it was a way of life.