Bent Wings - F4U Corsair Action and Accidents [Paperback]

Fred "Crash" Blechman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1999

You are in an F4U Corsair, turning toward the carrier and preparing all the controls for a night carrier landing. You are dive-bombing the Japanese battleship Yamato. You are in combat and watch your best friend get shot down

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Fred Blechman flew F4U-5 Corsairs with the VF-14 "Tophatters." He made two Mediterranean carrier cruises, and numerous Caribbean carrier deployments from 1950-1952. Since 1961 he has written 750 magazine articles and seven books about microcomputers, electronics and flying.

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Xlibris, Corp.; 1 edition (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738803464
• ISBN-13: 978-0738803463
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #428,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get into the Cockpit with Fred, January 9, 2001

By 

Michael Masotto (DaddyFixIt.com) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bent Wings - F4U Corsair Action and Accidents (Paperback)

Told as several short stories, Bent Wings is a collection of what would otherwise be a "Pilots' Hangar Talk," stories from one pilot to another. From the start, the author straps you in and puts you in control of his F4U Corsair. Soon, your at 30,000 feet flying among the rainbows.

Many of the stories are devoted to activities of young F4U Corsair pilots, with actual accident reports and photos of both good and bad landing. An F4U Corsair pilot himself, the author reflects his experience as an aviator in a smooth easy to read style that both pilots and land-lovers will enjoy.

If you've ever dreamed of what it would have been like to fly an F4U Corsair, read "Bent Wings."

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bent Wings - F4UCorsair Action and Accidents, February 28, 2000

By 

Scott Lucas (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bent Wings - F4U Corsair Action and Accidents (Hardcover)

I met my first Corsair in Ordnance School at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, on my way to Pensacola and a career in Naval Aviation. In the early summer evenings, I would go down to the hanger and sit in the cockpit, dreaming of things to come. Circumstances got in the way, the career didn't work out, and I never got to fly a Corsair. But I did fly the T-28 Trojan -- better visibility, yet the same kind of attitude, throaty roaring sound, and serious torque problems. Even without this familiarity, Fred makes it possible to fly with him and the other contributors in a series of vignettes every bit as exciting as an action/adventure literary effort. You can see the animated activity of the flight deck, you can feel the newness of it to these fledgling pilots, you can feel the excitement and yes, the terror, the fear of error. And you can almost smell the hot engine oil and hear the thunder of thousands of horsepower unleashed in that huge radial engine. Be in the air at night, with the golden sun dropping into the ocean, the majesty and beauty bringing tears to your eyes, and then the sudden horror at the realization; you have to put this pig down on a matchbook! One can see why it is widely thought that Navy pilots are the finest trained in the world. It's also easy to understand Fred's dubious achievement of being America's honorary Japanese Ace in Corsairs, having downed five of the aircraft one way or another. Come fly with Fred, come fly, lets fly away!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!, December 11, 2007

By 

E. William - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bent Wings - F4U Corsair Action and Accidents (Paperback)

This is a great little book to have around. Great stories from Mr. Blechman and other collections he put together from other pilots. Fred was a great guy, and I met him at the Chino, CA Planes of Fame museum. He signed my book, and unfortunately passed away a couple weeks later.