Over 60 Spitfires found buried in Myanmar (Burma)

[Sarge1998]

Interesting article about a great number of old Spitfires buried by the Brits to avoid falling into Japanese hands are going to return home. See article below.

Spitfire fighter planes to be dug up in Myanmar - Yahoo! News

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

I hope this is true. Time capsule.

[Brit plumber]

It's all true, the finder has used a bore hole and placed a camera down it and the condition is apparantly quite good. There is an estimated 60 Spitfires at the location. From what I have heard, the crates were placed in a further excavated bomb crater. The parts were waxed/oiled before being crated and the crates were tarred to seal them. I seam to remember being told that a aircraft only needs somthing like 10% of the original parts to be classed as an original. I was at Ryton arms in the UK a few years back and Freddie the armourer had 2 Hispano cannons in for deactivation, it took 2 months of soaking in diesal to free the breech blocks as the spitfire they were from had been in the Humber estuary for nearly 70 years. He told me that he had to save the cannon as they were needed to make the 10% of the parts required to call the rebuilt recovered wreck an 'Original'.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

That is going to be at least as good a story as the P-38 Lightning recovered in Greenland/Iceland? I hope they document the recovery in documentary form. Wow what a story!

[blazer91]

yes, this is a fantastic historical artifact recovery story. The Spitfire is a beautiful fighter with an incredible history. The idea of finding 60 of them stored away (properly) is what movies are made of. I will be following this.
Jim

[villiers]

Suppose those were the aircraft that weren´t flown in action during the Singapore fiasco. Personally, I find the thought sickening.

[Paul S.]

The Sydney Morning Herald article said they are R-R Griffon powered Mk XIVs. It also stated that the aircraft had been properly preserved before being buried.

The Mk XIV was a late war model. The aircraft involve may have been newly arrived in theatre (by ship) not have been flown in combat when the war ended. The Griffon was a larger engine and the MK XIV had 'bulges' along the nose to enclose the tops of the engine cylinder banks. As memory serves the Mk XIV also had a more pointed vertical stabiliser (my god-father flew Mk IX Spitfires - hence the interest).

A bloke I worked with decades ago had been a Royal Marine serving in an RN aircraft carrier in the Pacific when the war ended. He told me they pushed all the Lend-Lease aircraft off the flight deck into deep water whilst on their way to home waters. Another WWII vet told me of them driving bulldozers through lines of fighters crushing the tails and then bulldozing them into ditches after the war ended. Thank heaven someone had the forethought that these Spitfires might need or want 'resurrecting' and decided to preserve them before burying them.

[Peter Laidler]

I'm one of the sceptics........... Every year or so we read of this that and the other being 'found' after being buried for X years. But alas, notjing ever seems to come of it.

Where did you actually SEE the underground pics of these planes BP. According to the BaW magazine, Nobody's seen it!!!!!!!!!

Like the Lancasters in Australia and ammunition storeage bunkers in the Savanake Forest, still crated jeeps in wherever - and the Spitfires in Burma, I'll believe it when I see it. In the meantime, my £20 wager, to ANY military/Service charity (Badger can make the choice when the time comes.....) that I made last year or so regarding these same planes still stands.

But it's getting better........... It's now a £30 wager. I have a feeling in my bones that my money is safely tucked up in my bank. You mark my words!

[Brit plumber]

Theres some more info.

Burma Spitfire dig to begin this month - Defence Management

I havn't personally seen the photos but BBMF (Battle of Britain Memorial Flight) have seen them. I also saw the interview between the PM and the PM of Burma where they signed an agreement that they would allow the consortium to recover the aircraft. They had the evidence prior to signing so I guess they wouldn't have signed if it was a con.

[muffett.2008]

Bad luck Pete, start polishing those pennies.