Spitfires and Beer Kegs?
A friend of mine sent this email to me, so I'm sharing it with you.
War is hell! Why the men in the Pacific wanted to be in the ETO.
At first I thought this was a leg pull, but then I thought. . . fighter pilots. . Brits. . Beer. Nope, gotta be true.
Bob
Here's the text he included in the email:
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.
As a result, Spitfires equipped with Mod XXX or keg-carrying pylons were often sent back to Great-Britain for "maintenance" or "liaison" duties. They would then return to Normandy with full beer kegs fitted under the wings.
Typically, the British Revenue of Ministry and Excise stepped in, notifying the brewery that they were in violation of the law by exporting beer without paying the relevant taxes. It seems that Mod. XXX was terminated then, but various squadrons found different ways to refurbish their stocks. Most often, this was done with the unofficial approval of higher echelons.
In his book "Dancing in the Skies", Tony Jonsson, the only Icelander pilot in the RAF, recalled beer runs while he was flying with 65 Squadron. Every week a pilot was sent back to the UK to fill some cleaned-up drop tanks with beer and return to the squadron. Jonsson hated the beer runs as every man on the squadron would be watching you upon arrival. Anyone who made a rough landing and dropped the tanks would be the most hated man on the squadron for an entire week.
In his book "Typhoon Pilot", Desmond Scott also recalls Typhoon drop tanks filled with beer but regretted that it acquired a metallic taste.
Less imaginative techniques involved stashing bottles wherever space could be found on the aircraft, which included the ammunition boxes, luggage compartment or even in parts of the wing, with varying results. Champagne bottles in particular did not react well to the vibrations they were submitted to during such bootlegging trips.
Of course I had to do some investigating myself (that's part of my job) and here's just a few of the sites that corroborated the facts.
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This is from the website - http://acesofww2.com
Factory Fresh Spitfire Mk IXe's make their way to the forward airfields of Normandy carrying kegs of beer. The English brewery of Heneger and Constable donated fresh beer for the troops fighting in Normandy, and someone came up with the idea of strapping the beer kegs to the underwings of the Spitfires that were being shipped to the forward airfields. The troops loved the freshly delivered, cold beer, but as with all good things, the British Ministry of Revenue and Excise stepped in and notified the brewery that it was in violation of the law by exporting beer without paying the taxes on it. And that was the end of that.
Read a short, first-hand account by Lloyd Berryman about the first beer run Johnnie Johnson's Canadian Wing ever did by clicking here. Lloyd does not remember the name of the 3rd pilot but says Murray Havers was in on the show.
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Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
