16/01/2026
FIGHTER PILOT FRIDAY:
Squadron Leader Keith Truscott had seen some action.
In 1941, the tail of his Spitfire was shot off over Germany, with both fuel tanks ruptured. He'd then run out of fuel fleeing back over the English Channel, and as he tried to bale out at 4,000 feet, he was trapped in the cockpit. After a heroic struggle, he'd eventually broken free - a mere 400 feet above the water.
"Bluey" Truscott had enjoyed a storied wartime career: he'd shot down virtually every type of German aircraft out there, and had even launched an attack on a naval destroyer - entirely on his own!
Today, though, he was doing song something a little different.
On his flank was a British Blenheim bomber carrying very important cargo, and they were flying directly into enemy airspace. Beneath them: Saint-Omer in France, a N**i stronghold and prisoner of war camp. And, for a change, the British pilots weren't being shot at.
The radio crackled to life.
"Drop target three miles ahead. Stand by es**rt."
Truscott throttled back, watching carefully as the Blenheim pulled ahead. The bomb bay doors opened, and something was ejected from them.
Not a bomb, but something else: a carefully wrapped package containing a prosthetic leg. Down below, the legendary Douglas Bader was being held prisoner, and by virtue of diplomatic inquiry, the British authorities had arranged with their German counterparts to deliver a new leg to the famed pilot. He'd lost one while being captured, and was so well respected that his mortal enemies agreed to allow the delivery.
The parachute opened a second later, and as the package drifted out of sight through the clouds below, Truscott smiled approvingly.
Time to go home.
Keith "Bluey" Truscott racked up 20 aerial victories during his career - and one more, if you count the leg.
We do.
He died tragically the following year in a training accident, a decorated hero mourned and celebrated across Australia for his exploits.
Today, we raise a coffee in his memory.
Blue skies, sir.
And extraordinary new missions.
Hired Gun Coffee.
Fuel for the bold.
