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Twenty Spitfire discovered buried in Burma to return to the UK

This is potentially very exciting news!! ........I'm sure we havent heard the last of this.
(reading the articles within the link........hopefully its not just another publicity stunt to take pressure of elsewhere .... enough said!! )

Finding just one Spitfire would be fantastic, but twenty!!!

regards Kev
 
Here`s hoping it is true & something comes of it.
Keeping my ears to the ground at Duxford with CV on standby!!!
 
As a former aviation archeologist,this is every wreck diggers dream,I hope it all turns out well for the gentleman who has been instrumental in finding them,one can only hope that all his hard work is well rewarded,

Don,
 
Apparently an airworthy Spitfire is worth 1 million or more. If this is true then it may turn out very well for the finder.

There are also similar stories of crated spitfires in mine shafts in Australia, but none have ever been found (yet).
 
What a bit of luck ! We can modify them as Seafires & use them on those 2 aircraft carriers we have under construction..........
 
@ siegfeid - Would the French let us??!!
I happen to know where there are a load of new crated WWII Merlin, Giffon & PW engines & assoc parts for aircraft (inc ordnance) buried - MOD will not let anyone dig them up due to lend/lease agreement though!!
 
Looks and sounds very interesting, i will be interested to see what condition these planes are in. Hopefully the whole dig will be filmed and made into some sort of documentary.
 
I don't want to be negative about such a great potential find, but I do find it hard to believe that the planes would have been buried intact and un-damaged, only needing for someone to dig them up again to be usable - the people that buried them for starters. Under the lend lease agreement usually such items had to be destroyed. However I would really love to be proven wrong!

In early 1946 (whilst waiting to be demobilised), my father was stationed at the Bandiana Army Base in Victoria, Australia. He said he watched while quite a large number of unused lend lease WLA Harley-Davidson motorcyles were buried in their crates on the base in a large trench dug by a bulldozer. Apparently the bulldozer part filled the trench then ran over all the crates several times to wreck them.

When told of this I thought that there would still be many usable parts worth salvaging, but my father said that on a visit to the base in the 1960s he noted that there were now buildings constructed over this location, and they are still there.

Look forward to more information about this exciting find!

Cheers,

Graeme
 
Hi Graeme,

Very interesting comments about Buildings erected over burial sites - there has been long ongoing "rumor" that one of the Tiger Tanks used for testing during the war is buried under a building down in Victoria somewhere......

Hum, I wondering if the bulldozer came out second best in that scenario.................:tinysmile_fatgrin_t

Cheers
Drew
 
Yes, if this is true, surely they will film it. A must see doc for me.
Makes one wonder about all the other lost or hidden stuff out there.
 
I am a bit baffled as to why they expect Mr,Cundall to "apologise" if they dont find any crated aircraft,he is only going on the evidence he has to hand,what else can he do,in the 70s we dug the crash site of a Spitfire,this was located in a plantation which had mature trees,recovery was completed,some years later on returning to the site after the trees had been felled and new ones planted we found it impossible to locate the crash site,in Burma the airfield could have been enlarged or the jungle could have encroached closer to the boundry of the airfield,over the space of so many years so many things have changed,memories fade and he has to glean what he can from the few remaining eye witnesses,I wish him all the very best in his quest and I dont expect an apology if he does not find anything,he does however deserve some kind of reward for his determination and tenacity,somehow I doubt he is doing it for any kind of reward,finding the aircraft would be reward enough for him,
Don,
 
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