Sierra Hotel Blog
In WW2, RAF Spitfire pilots discovered their Mk IX wing bomb pylons could be modified to carry beer kegs for Allied troops in Normandy. High-altitude cruise kept the load perfectly chilled. Officially code-named Modification XXX, later variants used long-range fuel tanks repurposed to carry beer instead of fuel. Because nothing says Allied ingenuity like cold beer delivered by Spitfire.
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Clarence 'Bud' Anderson was a WWII triple ace who flew 116 combat missions over Europe in his P-51 Mustang 'Old Crow,' scoring 16.25 aerial victories with the 357th Fighter Group — and never took a scratch. He went on to serve in Korea and Vietnam, became Chief of Flight Test at Edwards AFB, and was promoted to honorary brigadier general at age 100. He flew west on May 17, 2024, at the age of 102.
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Before he created Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry flew B-17 Flying Fortresses with the 394th Bomb Squadron in the Pacific, survived a crash on takeoff at Espiritu Santo, then flew for Pan Am — pulling survivors from a burning Clipper in the Syrian desert. The same man who gave us the USS Enterprise once flew real ones.
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