Air Action Weekly! - Spring 1938 Ed. 9: Obituaries

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 Obituaries:

Lt. Commander John Smith

An ex-RAF pilot turned pirate, fell to his death after bailing out from his beloved Balmoral bomber in a dogfight between the Iron Falcons and Iron Lances.

His gunnery crew survived and told AAW that he had held out to the last moment to get them to safety, before diving held long at the Iron Lance pilot who shot them down (See Noburo Hiro-Matsu below).

His co-pilot and best friend "Goose" said that "He was a noble man and will be sorely missed".

Dennis "Judas" O'Donnell

Dennis "Judas" O'Donnell was murdered in the woodlands south-east of Sky Haven. He was slashed across the throat by what forensic detectives have suspected to be a large kitchen knife "skilfully held".

He had been a prestigious pilot of the Fighting Daredevils, Iron Falcons and the Iron Lances and police suspect his murder was due to a pirate squabble.

His family have been notified. 
 

Anna "Cossack" Rasputin

The beloved tempress of the skies has fallen! It was reported that she had joined the Iron Lances since the fall of Redmann's Gang. But in a daring dogfight between the I.Lances and the I.Falcons she was struck down by a mid-air collision with Lycan Fuego. While Lycan was seen parachuting to safety, the fearless Russian was not.
AAW will miss her, and doubtless many other pilots and our readers will feel the same. The only thing left to say then is "Dasvidaniya, Babycakes!"

Bill "Marshal" Redmann

It has been reported that Bill Redmann has been shot down over Hollywood in a raid against Howard Hughes Aviation. The pilot had reportedly flown into a cliff and died in a fiery explosion (twice), but it has been discovered by AAW reporters that he had begun a Redmann revival squadron near the Nation of Hollywood.

However, it is reported that after being shot in his rudder and hit by a flare his plane flew straight into a warehouse of munitions which exploded. Police on the scene feel confident proclaiming that he died in the crash.

Noburo Hiro-Matsu

 A valued member of the Sky Haven community, a skilled pilot and a expert shot, died during a dogfight between the Iron Lances and the Iron Falcons. In a final ditch effort to take down John Smith of the I.Falcons he fired the last of his guns instead of bailing out, and then dove out of his cockpit to meet Smith in mid-air.

They reportedly shared a honorary drink before engaging in knife-katana fight as they plummeted towards the ground. Eyewitnesses said that Noburo fought vigorously, but had lost the fight shortly before reaching the ground.

A valuable pilot and courteous individual, he will be missed by those who knew him.

Zebulon B. Vance 

The squadron leader of the Iron Lances squadron, he commanded respect among his peers and was revered by the pirate community. There is doubt he had amassed the most advanced technology any pirate squadron has so far achieved, and made use of it intelligently. His organised network of relay towers enabling several squadrons at once to be in communication allowed the Iron Lances to dominate the skies and perform coordinated raids on research facilities.

Jonathan 'Genghis' Kahn, the kingpin of Chicago, said that "Zebulon was a man who knew the game. If he'd come to Chicago we would've become best friends, or I would've killed him".

A revolutionary pirate of intelligence and precision. The skies will cloud over and rain today.