# Spitfires (20 of them) Found in Burma



## AWP (Apr 15, 2012)

This is an incredible find even if 1 of them returns to the air, much less 1/4 or all of them. Depending on their condition I could see 5 or 6 of them flying again.

This is just remarkable.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...in-Burma-during-war-to-be-returned-to-UK.html



> Twenty iconic Spitfire aircraft buried in Burma during the Second World War are to be repatriated to Britain after an intervention by David Cameron.


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## CDG (Apr 15, 2012)

That's pretty damn cool.


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## AWP (Apr 15, 2012)

For you true history/ airplane geeks:
http://www.warbirdregistry.org/spitregistry/spitregistry.html

Main page:
http://www.warbirdregistry.org/

A sample from one Spitfire, some pages aren't nearly as detailed:


> *Serial #:* P7350
> *Construction #:*
> CBAF.14
> *Civil Registration:*
> ...


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## Tyrant (Apr 15, 2012)

This was the best part. I'd love to see pictures. “They were just buried there in transport crates,” Mr Cundall said. “They were waxed, wrapped in greased paper and their joints tarred. They will be in near perfect condition.”


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## RackMaster (Apr 15, 2012)

I was just going to say that how they were buried was the best part.  I wonder what else is buried out there.


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## ÉIREGOBRÁCH1922 (Apr 15, 2012)

Great post. Thank you.


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## talonlm (Apr 15, 2012)

RackMaster said:


> I was just going to say that how they were buried was the best part. I wonder what else is buried out there.


 
The end of the war saw a lot of equipment simply buried off the ends of runways and the like, though none likely in the shape these spits are hopefully in.


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## TheSiatonist (Apr 16, 2012)

Additional info:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/d...rs-quest-to-find-lost-Spitfires-in-Burma.html


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## The91Bravo (Apr 18, 2012)

I would love to keep track of this project and see how they look.


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## AWP (Apr 18, 2012)

The91Bravo said:


> I would love to keep track of this project and see how they look.


 

These guys may have updates as they become available (you have to scroll to the bottom of the page):

http://www.warbirdalley.com/news.htm


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## The91Bravo (Apr 18, 2012)

Thanks Free.


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## Red Flag 1 (Apr 19, 2012)

WOW, what a deal. I'd love to see some of those in the air. My eldest daughter and her family live in England. She lives not far from Dover, and there are several WW II era aircraft that take to the air. We see them from her farm in Ashford. They have a sound unlike any other aircraft. Even here in the Shen Valley, we see WW II heavies that show near here annually. On arrival and departure, they fly right over the house, the sound is tremendous. The bombers roar, and the Mustangs just have a beautifully nasty snarl; I love them. Thanks Free!!

RF 1


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## pardus (Apr 20, 2012)

That is awesome!


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## SpitfireV (Apr 20, 2012)

They're mkXIVs too, very sexy.

So much I just came.


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## AWP (May 1, 2012)

Well, this didn't take long. We should start a pool on how many days this will take to hit the British courts.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012...ried-wwii-spitfires-in-burma/?intcmp=features



> The long-lost planes were discovered after a $200,000 quest by aviation enthusiast David Cundall.
> British prime minister David Cameron sent a business delegation to Burma after the planes in late April -- and he brought along wealthy real estate developer Steven Boultbee Brooks instead of him.
> "Mr. Brooks wants all rights handed over to him, including media rights, and if there's any money over he says he might pay me something. It's appalling," Cundall told the Independent.
> The 62-year-old Cundall claims he was pressured into abandoning his claim to the 67-year-old fighters by Brooks, a British version of Donald Trump who presented him with a "memorandum of understanding" that took control of his overseas activities, the Vancouver Sun said.
> He learned of the Cameron / Brooks trip after the fact -- and called the terms of the memorandum an insult.​


​


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## pardus (May 2, 2012)

That is fucked up!


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## SpitfireV (May 2, 2012)

Angry? Yes.


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## AWP (Oct 17, 2012)

Maybe things will procede without a court battle afterall. Curiously, and I'm skeptical but we'll see if the numbers pan out, they are now claiming 60.

60! That's almost equal to the total number left on the planet. So, yeah, I'm interested to see how many they can recover.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/1...to-dig-up-buried-wwii-planes/?test=latestnews



> The Myanma Ahlin daily reported that the excavation agreement was signed Tuesday by Director General of Civil Aviation Tin Naing Tun, Cundall on behalf of his British company DJC, and Htoo Htoo, managing director of Cundall's Burma partner, the Shwe Taung Paw company.


 
Bonus points: the deal was signed with the guy who found them. :)


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## pardus (Oct 17, 2012)

WOW, that is great on all counts!


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## ÉIREGOBRÁCH1922 (Oct 17, 2012)

60...amazing to find so many. With that number they will probably have a better chance of getting a few more flying again.


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## Centermass (Oct 19, 2012)

A whole bunch of them.....in fact, over a hundred plus. 

As many as 140 World War II Spitfire fighter planes — three to four times the number of airworthy models known to exist — are believed to be buried in near-pristine condition in Myanmar. A British-Myanmar partnership says it will begin digging them up by the end of the month.

The go-ahead for excavation came earlier this week when the Myanmar government signed an agreement with British aviation enthusiast David J. Cundall and his local partner.Cundall, a farmer and businessman, earlier this year announced he had located 20 of the planes, best known for helping the Royal Air Force win mastery of the skies during the Battle of Britain. On Thursday, however, a retired Myanmar geology professor who has assisted in the recovery operation since 1999 said there are about 140 Spitfires buried in various places around the Southeast Asian country, which until 1948 was a British colony called Burma. He did not explain the discrepancy in estimates.

Soe Thein said the British brought crates of Spitfires to Myanmar in the closing stages of the war, but never used them when the Japanese gave up the fight in 1945. The single-seat version of the fighter plane was 9.14 meters (30 feet) long with an 11.3 meter (37 foot) wingspan. 

Spitfires in working shape are rare and popular with collectors. In 2009, a restored but airworthy Spitfire was sold by British auction house Bonhams for >1,739,500 ($2,544,130)

Pretty neat to see these become airworthy again. 

Link


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## AWP (Oct 19, 2012)

Duplicate thread. Merged.


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## SpitfireV (Oct 21, 2012)

I'd like to see some more replicas around. There was a German outfit who were building 190s from the original plans and with just a few modern bits that you don't notice from the outside. More 190s, some Typhoons, etc, would all be very cool to see.


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## pardus (Oct 21, 2012)

SpitfireV said:


> I'd like to see some more replicas around. There was a German outfit who were building 190s from the original plans and with just a few modern bits that you don't notice from the outside. More 190s, some Typhoons, etc, would all be very cool to see.




Have a look in your own backyard ;) . New Zealand is producing new Mosquitos and a few other newly manufactured WWI & WWII aircraft now, mainly for the American market.
I'll check and get some details from my mate in the know.


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## SpitfireV (Oct 21, 2012)

pardus said:


> Have a look in your own backyard ;) . New Zealand is producing new Mosquitos and a few other newly manufactured WWI & WWII aircraft now, mainly for the American market.
> I'll check and get some details from my mate in the know.


 
Oh don't you worry, I'm all over them  There's a Tempest under restro too, one of those replica 190s is at Omaka as well. There's an outfit over the Wairarapa doing repo WW1 aircraft too. A lot of work is in Auckland...which is a pretty good reason to go back to the den of scrum and villiany.


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## ÉIREGOBRÁCH1922 (Oct 21, 2012)

I saw these mini kit-built Spitfires that are made in England on the BBC news a while back.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-classic-warplane--bit-smaller-originals.html

Very cool.


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## pardus (Oct 21, 2012)

ÉIREGOBRÁCH1922 said:


> I saw these mini kit-built Spitfires that are made in England on the BBC news a while back.
> 
> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-classic-warplane--bit-smaller-originals.html
> 
> Very cool.



Fuck yes that's cool!
I'm surprised those Spitfires sounds so good. A lot closer to the sound of an original than I would've ever thought they would be.


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## AWP (Jan 18, 2013)

This is interesting. I'm starting to wonder what sort of scam they are running.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21074699



> Archaeologists hunting for World War II Spitfires in Burma believe there are no planes buried at the sites where they have been digging, the BBC understands.
> 
> The archaeologists have concluded that evidence does not support the original claim that as many as 124 Spitfires were buried at the end of the war, the BBC's Fergal Keane reports.
> 
> ...


 
Um, Mr. Project Leader? Isn't it your job to ensure that people dig holes where they are supposed to dig holes?

Dicks.


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## Chopstick (Jan 18, 2013)

Holy crap...when I saw the title of this I thought you meant SpitfireV.  20?? One is more than enough!


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## pardus (Jan 18, 2013)

WTF???

This gets more and more bizarre as time goes on.


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## RackMaster (Jan 18, 2013)

You'd think they would have used sonar or something over the ground before digging. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## pardus (Jan 18, 2013)

Why the fuck didn't they spend $20 and hire 100 locals with shovels to dig a fucking hole?


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## AWP (Jan 18, 2013)

pardus said:


> Why the fuck didn't they spend $20 and hire 100 locals with shovels to dig a fucking hole?


 
They were going to use Afghans hired by a Turkish construction company, part of job creation overseas that no one can do at home, but they didn't have 2 years to wait for a partially completed hole before the Turks could flee with the money.


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## Marauder06 (Jan 18, 2013)

Freefalling said:


> They were going to use Afghans hired by a Turkish construction company, part of job creation overseas that no one can do at home, but they didn't have 2 years to wait for a partially completed hole before the Turks could flee with the money.


 
I think I've seen that movie before.


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## pardus (Jan 18, 2013)

Freefalling said:


> They were going to use Afghans hired by a Turkish construction company, part of job creation overseas that no one can do at home, but they didn't have 2 years to wait for a partially completed hole before the Turks could flee with the money.


 
Your abandonment of hope for the human race amuses me endlessly Free.


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## AWP (Jan 18, 2013)

pardus said:


> Your abandonment of hope for the human race amuses me endlessly Free.


 
Most people would consider this an insult.

I am not most people.


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## pardus (Jan 18, 2013)

Freefalling said:


> Most people would consider this an insult.
> 
> I am not most people.


 
Again, why I like you.


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## SpitfireV (Jan 19, 2013)

Chopstick said:


> Holy crap...when I saw the title of this I thought you meant SpitfireV. 20?? One is more than enough!


 
But twenty would rule the world in a pedantic and overbearing way!


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## Frank S. (Jan 20, 2013)

SpitfireV said:


> There was a German outfit who were building 190s from the original plans and with just a few modern bits that you don't notice from the outside.


 
Thanks. I just shit my pants...


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## SpitfireV (Jan 21, 2013)

If it helps the FW190 came out well after the Germans started dancing on the Eiffel Tower.


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