Digging up buried Spitfires in Burma

[Neil]

A team of aircraft enthusiasts is heading to Burma for the final stage of a 17-year search to locate a hoard of Spitfire planes.

The group of 21, led by North Lincolnshire farmer David Cundall, will fly from Heathrow to begin digging at Yangon International Airport.

Mr Cundall, who first heard stories of the buried planes in 1996, said: "We think we have found them."

He hopes to restore any planes found to flying condition, in the UK.

Mr Cundall believes a large number of brand new Mark XIV Spitfires were buried in wooden crates on the orders of Lord Mountbatten during August and December 1945 as "surplus to requirements" at the end of World War II.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-20910980

[Neil]

No luck to far - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21074699

[AcesandEights]

No luck so far

Man, I missed the original post about this somehow. Anyway, I can't imagine how cool this would be if they managed to find and unearth intact any of these spitfires, and I'm not even that big into aeronautics or the air combat side of WWII history.

Good luck to them!

[Neil]

Man, I missed the original post about this somehow. Anyway, I can't imagine how cool this would be if they managed to find and unearth intact any of these spitfires, and I'm not even that big into aeronautics or the air combat side of WWII history.

Good luck to them!
I suspect the guys who own any existing ones are willing them to fail :)

Current Spitfires are worth a mint obviously...

Can you imagine what 127 new ones would do to their street (runway?) value?

[Mike70]

while I hope they find the planes, all of which are an important piece of world history, the condition they would be in after 70 years buried underground in Burma cannot be good. it would probably take a mint just to restore a couple of them, let alone over 100. still, I wish them all the success in the world.

I have a British Enfield rifle that was manufactured in 1943. it is one of my most treasured possessions because it is a piece of our shared history. it still works like a dream after nearly 70 years, is accurate as all hell and still very smooth. the only rifle I've ever fired that I thought was finer weapon is the M1 Garand.