Airfix releases Spitfire Kit celebrating the wartime beer runs of 1944.
After the Normandy landings in June 1944, those who had survived, facing further hardship against fierce resistance from German forces, still had time to wonder where their next pint would come from. They had to wait until July for assistance. Spitfire aircraft carried expendable 45-gallon jettison tanks, full of extra fuel supplies to give them more range. With less requirement for the extra fuel, some wag at Tangmere Airfield, Sussex had the bright idea of filling the jettison tanks with beer, from nearly Chichester brewery Henty & Constable.
The beer was then flown over the Channel to Bény-Sur-Mer in Normandy, with later deliveries to Bazeville, a few miles from Gold Beach. The jettison tanks had to be cleaned first with steam, though the ‘erks’ (infantrymen) who drank it were pleased that it was at least chilled, having been flown at an altitude of 13,000 feet. The tanks were marked ‘XXX’ to ensure that no-one mistook the precious beer for petrol. The deliveries became known in the barracks as ‘Depth charge modification XXX’.
As demand for beer from home increased, Spitfire pilots devised ingenious new ways to attach it to their ‘kites’: they took a standard 18-gallon beer barrel, or kilderkin, attached a home-made nose cone to make it more streamlined, and attached two of them to the Spitfire IX’s bomb racks. These mercy missions became known as ‘Flying Drays’, after the traditional horse and cart mode of delivering beer from breweries to pubs.
The operations were conducted unofficially by airmen themselves, but soon the Air Ministry cottoned on and sanctioned the Flying Drays. A photograph was distributed to newspapers showing a Spitfire of 332 (Norwegian) Squadron at Tangmere, having its jettison tank filled with beer from two wooden casks.
Airfix, maker of many Spitfire models, has now created the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc – Flying Dray – in a limited edition 1:24 scale kit inspired by the beer runs of 1944. The Flying Dray edition includes everything needed to accurately replicate one of these delivery aircraft, including additional resin parts: two beer barrels, nose cones, bomb racks and a slipper tank. And, to make the construction more evocative of depth charge modification XXX, the kit also comes with an exclusive Flying Dray pint glass, dedicated to ML208.
The Chap is offering one lucky reader the chance to win the whole kit, including the Flying Dray pint glass. Simply sign up to our newsletter (in the box in the right-hand column on this page) and drop us a line with the answer to this question: Who is the man seated on the wing of the Spitfire in the first picture in this article?
The Flying Dray spitfire kit is available from airfix.com
