Book Review: War Wings by Eustace L. Adams
Jimmy Deal and his squadron are Navy flyers assigned to Souilly-sur-Mer, near the Belgian border and some heavy fighting in World War One. Ensign Deal was a Reservist before the Great War, and many regular officers resent him. Good thing he’s one of the best seaplane aces they have!
This is the third Jimmy Deal book, and the seventh in the Air Combat Stories series for boys. It reads more like a series of short stories than a novel, so I suspect it was originally just that and published in a magazine somewhere before being stitched together for hardback publication. The first story arc involves a “pretty boy” pilot nicknamed “Sister” for his movie star good looks by a nasty fellow named “Shorty.” “Sister” turns out to have been a stunt pilot for the film industry before the war.
Next up is a fellow called “the Crab” for his sour disposition; turns out he’s got a personal grudge against German submarines, which he is finally able to do something about. After that, Jimmy is dragooned into service by a half-mad admiral who won’t take “no” for an answer. They wind up flying a German fighter plane to an Allied base, complete with a captive German ace!
The final section has Jimmy become a Navy “observer” on the Army’s front lines as Admiral “Bulletproof” Bullitt prepares a set of rail guns. Jimmy is lucky enough to run into his old college buddy “Poison” Lee. Most of the characterization in this bit is a feud between tiny Lieutenant Lee and the massive Private Gluck, though at the end they put their enmity aside to stop a German tunnel.
This is pretty good stuff; the author served with the Ambulance Service and the Navy in the war, so he sells the combat scenes nicely. The characterization is a bit simplistic, and the story that introduces the Admiral runs on a string of wild coincidences that even Jimmy can’t quite believe actually happened.
Modern readers may be put off by the use of feminine nicknames to denigrate soldiers, but it is entirely in period. Parents may want to talk to young readers about the sexism involved in that. Actual women are only mentioned; our heroes’ leaves are left to the imagination.
This is better than some of the similar books I’ve been reading, and recommended for air combat buffs if you can find it.
