Dave,
Thanks for sharing this with us. Just think I have ruined several lanterns by straightening them when they were supposed to be bent. I would have thought it would have been bent the other direction to make filling the font easier though.
I will definitely have to share this with friends of mine that are pilots. I do know that smudge pots (road torches) were used here in Thomasville at the old airport because a friend tells of helping with them occasionally but they didn't use any of the fancy bent lanterns. I guess they were deprived.