Beer Busters (1 Viewer)

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bobbysocks

Chief Master Sergeant
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Feb 28, 2010
Pennsylvania
found this the other day and thought it was humorous...

i had known about the guys putting vodka and other items in the ammo bays of their ac...and heard a story about someone supposedly making ice cream in a drop tank in the PTO but this one is new to me...


In the lighter moments of World War II, the Spitfire was used in an unorthodox role: bringing beer kegs to the men in Normandy.

During the war, the Heneger and Constable brewery donated free beer to the troops. After D-Day, supplying the invasion troops in Normandy with vital supplies was already a challenge. Obviously, there was no room in the logistics chain for such luxuries as beer or other types of refreshments. Some men, often called sourcers, were able to get wine or other niceties from the land or rather from the locals. RAF Spitfire pilots came up with an even better idea.


The Spitfire Mk IX was an evolved version of the Spitfire, with pylons under the wings for bombs or tanks. It was discovered that the bomb pylons could also be modified to carry beer kegs. According to pictures that can be found, various sizes of kegs were used. Whether the kegs could be jettisoned in case of emergency is unknown. If the Spitfire flew high enough, the cold air at altitude would even refresh the beer, making it ready for consumption upon arrival.


A variation of this was a long range fuel tank modified to carry beer instead of fuel. The modification even received the official designation Mod. XXX. Propaganda services were quick to pick up on this, which probably explains the official designation.
 

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I saw a 1/48 scale model the other day. It was on line. I think it was called the beer truck. I'll have to find it again. Can't remember the model manufacturer though.
and it was a Spitfire.
 
I'll bet two of them caused a real drag on the aircraft. I've heard of C-47s being packed with beer and just flown to 10,000 feet for awhile to chill the contents, but fitting a Spitfire with under wing casks is a novel idea.

Charles
 
That's cool.

I'll have to find that actual quote, but in "Corsair" by Barrett Tillman he tells the story in detail about the ice cream drop tanks. Can't remember what unit it was, besides that it was a Marine Corsair unit. It even had a prop driven mixer in it.
 
Johnny Johnson in his book "Wing Leader" describes doing this several times for his squadron once they had moved to Normandy.
 

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