Customer Reviews

Bent Wings - F4U Corsair Action and Accidents

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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."

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!

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.

I met Mr. Blechman at Chino Planes of Fame Corsair Demonstration Day and he enthusiastically signed his book for me! I could hardly wait to get home and read it and I was not let down. I have long been fascinated by the hog and the stories in his book helped me experience the art of flying the long nose bird vicariously. I finally have a good appreciation for just how difficult a machine it was to land aboard an air craft carrier. Well done Mr. Blechman.

Perhaps I should have read the reviews a bit more carefully before I purchased this book. My interest is World War 2 first person acounts, especially those books written by aviators. Although this book was, for the most part, a first person account, it was also very repetitive as if each chapter( by the author) was a magazine article intended for a reader who had not read the previous chapter. For instance, the section of the book relating the author's personal experiences includes at least three seperate "chapters" wherin he describes his crash during his initial carrier qualification. This book would be more accurately described as a compilation of magazine articles that describe very specific incidents ( sometimes as many as three times) without any depth and with little context. That being said, I admire the author's courage in flying the beast that was the Corsair.