Curiosities 32 - The Thirst for War and the Spitfire Beer Barrel Bombers

João Henrique Barboza Jorgetto • Mar 30, 2024

The Second World War was the scene of the greatest horrors the world has ever experienced, but it was also from there that many things emerged and expanded around the world, given the magnitude of the conflict and its constant changes.

A rifle, a helmet, and a Coca-Cola in hand

An example of this is the Coca-Cola company's absurd growth during the conflict. With the United States of America about to go to war, the company ensured that wherever an American wielded a rifle in combat, there would also be a bottle of soda to support him. The promise ended up being fulfilled, and the soft drink took over the planet.

The first mass appearance of Coca-Cola on the front was in 1943, with the opening of a factory in Oran, Algeria. From then on, more and more factories were opened to support soldiers, ending in 1945 with 64 factories outside the country (there were only three countries before the war). The company's professionals responsible for transporting the drink to the front wore military uniforms and were greeted with a grand celebration when they arrived. Soda even replaced wine at a mass taking over a village in France!

Empty bottles also had their uses, serving for countless activities on the battlefield, from the shards of glass used to sabotage enemy landing strips to the bottle used as a container in improvised blood transfusions.

But it wasn't just on the allies' side that drinks appeared and innovated on the front. Did you know that Fanta was the creation of Nazi Germany? So it is. In 1940, Germany needed to nationalize Coca-Cola, the country's most consumed drink, which came from a country that supported the enemy, Great Britain. With the declaration of war by the United States, patience with Coca-Cola ended, and the production of the drink in the country was prevented. But what should we do with the factories now? Simple, make your drink! That's when the idea of ​​Max Keith, director of what was Coca-Cola in the country, came up to promote a contest among employees to name the new drink, made with sugar and apple pulp (and you'd think that orange Fanta was the pioneer, right?). The winning name given by Joe Knipp was "Fanta," a variation of "Fantasie," or fantasy, in German.

The idea was successful, and in 1943 alone, 3 million boxes of the new soft drink were sold in Germany. With the lack of sugar throughout the war, saccharine and later beet sugar were used without any complaints from the population. Max Keith had no ties to the Nazis, which contributed to his rapprochement with Coca-Cola at the end of the war, selling the brand in 1960.

Soldier! Bring my beer, flying!

But where are our beloved planes in this whole story? The story of the Spitfire Beer Barrel Bombers has undoubtedly entered the hall of fame for practical solutions to soldiers' problems in the field.

Shortly after the intense combat that involved the landing of Allied troops in Normandy on June 6, 1944, tired soldiers felt a lack of food, ammunition, hygiene items, and even water. Nothing was easy for the logistics following the invasion of France, as all transportation efforts were focused on essential items to keep the fight active and not lose territory. In this environment, beer was a complete luxury item, almost impossible to find, and negotiated among soldiers at the price of gold.

In England, two breweries donated beers to the British troops, but the distance from the front prevented this beer from arriving in good condition. Send via normal army logistics? Without a chance, on the ships, the little space left was used for correspondence, uniforms, and food. The solution was found by the Royal Air Force, the British Air Force: modify the bomb racks to carry beer barrels! The many Spitfire model planes that made the daily route to France began to carry beer and, to the surprise of the consuming soldiers, the beer arrived ready for consumption, chilled by the air at the aircraft's altitude!

According to soldiers' reports, other modifications were made, such as using external fuel tanks to carry the drink and even giving the beer a "metallic" flavor. This transport campaign was called modification XXX and only ended when the British Ministry of Revenue and Excise began to ban the practice, accusing breweries of circumventing the rules for exporting products and the fees they had to pay. The pilots tried other ways, such as carrying bottles among the ammunition boxes on cargo planes and even hiding drinks in the wings, all with the connivance of high-ranking members of the armed forces.