War Birds

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War Birds was a Dell pulp magazine that ran from March 1928 to October 1937. It was the first pulp to specialize in air warfare stories, and it helped spark imitators like Flying Aces and Aces in 1928.

A key feature was Terence X. O'Leary, an Irish pilot who began appearing in War Birds in 1933. In July 1933, Empey published O'Leary, Sky Hawk and rewrote O'Leary’s backstory to make him a Royal Flying Corps pilot. Over the next two years, more O’Leary adventures appeared. He belonged to the Black Wings Pursuit Squadron, a group whose members faced harsh penalties unless they fought fiercely. Critics were mixed: some praised the early air stories, while others called the O’Leary tales some of the worst in the pulps.

In March 1935 the magazine changed its title to Terence X. O’Leary’s War Birds and briefly switched to science fiction to boost sales. There were three science‑fiction issues, each a novel by Empey in which O’Leary battled the immortal Ageless Men from Atlantis in future planes. Critics said the sci‑fi was of very low quality. After three SF issues, the magazine returned to War Birds and published nine more issues, including one final O’Leary tale in October 1935 set in World War I.

The last issue appeared in October 1937.

Other writers who appeared in War Birds included Arthur J. Burks, Robert J. Hogan, Robert Sydney Bowen, William E. Barrett, Frederick C. Painton, and Lester Dent. Cover artists included George Rozen, Sidney Riesenberg, Rudolph Belarski, and Eugene Frandzen.

War Birds was published by Dell Publishing Co. Inc. and edited in its early years by Harry Steeger (until 1930) and then mainly by Carson W. Mowre, who left near the end of the run.

The magazine was monthly for most of its life, with an extra December issue for the first three years, plus a few gaps in 1932–1933 and an irregular period from 1935 onward. It cost 20 cents until March 1933, then varied between 10 and 20 cents. The first issue had 128 pages; most issues ran 128–144 pages, with some 96-page issues in 1933, 112 pages in 1935, and a final 116 pages. A Canadian reprint edition appeared for the July 1934 and April 1935 issues.