Norm Vickers Beer, American Beer

We got in trouble with the "Limey Toff's" again at Agartala. The limey's backed a truck up to the loading door of a C-46 & placed an armed guard at each side of the door. This immediately alerted one of the line mechanic's who climbed in & checked what they were loading. It was AMERICAN BEER! Pabst, Millers, Budweiser, etc. Quart bottles in wood cases packed in sawdust. This was too good to pass up. Soon several ground & air crews were busy. First the quilted panel was installed. This panel clipped in 3 or 4 feet behind the cockpit wall. (Apparently to help hold the cockpit heat in)

Next the trapdoor to the APU (behind the pilot's seat) was opened & cases of beer slowly began sliding down into the belly. Soon a jeep & trailer backed up to the lower hatch & the beer continued out of the bird. (This hatch was on the other side of the bird & the wog guards had no idea what was happening)

We must of stolen 20 or 30 cases of beer! Now, back to the Basha's. The termites were so busy eating them that you could hear them chewing. A fine dust kept floating down, covering everything. Somebody "liberated" some cargo chutes & we hung them inside, from the ridgepole & spread them to the walls to catch the dust. There were hundreds of shroud-lines dangling in every direction.

As we sat in the basha, in the dark, drinking beer it occurred to somebody that we probably should hide the evidence by tying the cases off to shroud lines placed over the ridge-pole & haul them up. For some reason one of the master sergeant's just pushed his under his bunk.

I had already gone flying when the British Toffs arrived with a half dozen MPs in tow. (British of course) I understand that all the basha's were searched. All they found was one case under a Master Sergeant's bunk. The CO was called on the carpet. Those damn Toff's wouldn't give up until the CO promised to break him to Private & keep him on restriction as long as he was in India. The CO called him in & told him to say he was a Private until we left this field, & try to avoid the damn Toff's. (We had a damn good CO. I wonder if he got any of the beer?)

Submitted By Norman Vickers, 14th Combat Cargo Squadron, 4th Combat Cargo Group-June 1999

I am looking for former members of the 3rd Combat Cargo Group, 1st, Combat Cargo Group, 2nd Combat Cargo Group and the 4th Combat Cargo Group. In fact I would like to hear from anyone who flew over the Hump during WW II, or flew any Combat Cargo Missions at any time (Berlin Air-Lift, Korea, etc.)

Please e-mail comment, suggestions, corrections,etc to: bill@comcar.org

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