WW2 Spitfires found in Burma
13 replies
padre31luxury_boxOPYANGON, Myanmar – Burma has signed a deal with a British aviation enthusiast to allow the excavation of a World War II treasure: dozens of Spitfire fighter planes buried by the British almost 70 years ago.
Aviation enthusiast David J. Cundall discovered the locations of the aircraft after years of searching. The planes are believed to be in good condition, since they were reportedly packed in crates and hidden by British forces to keep them out of the hands of invading Japanese.
The British Embassy said Wednesday that the agreement was reached after discussions between President Thein Sein and British Prime Minister David Cameron during his visit to Burma earlier this year.
How cool is that?
MikeHonchosubscriberGonna have a read at this when I get home. Pretty cool indeed.
Headcoach material wouldn’t want to work somewhere they’re not trusted with actual football decisions.
OhiophinphanmoderatorThe British shipped Spits to Burma and to Singapore in late '41-early '42 just as the US was shipping P-40's and other aircraft. Many were never uncrated and were either burned or fell into Japanese hands. Thanks to the lack of spare parts, the Japanese rarely did anything except test fly and evaluate the captured allied models. To find a cache of perhaps 60 early model Spitfires is remarkable! That should keep restorers busy for a decade or so.
Wouldn't it be incredible to get 30 or 40 flyable for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 2015? A "big wing" flyover would be something very, very special.
OHIOPHINPHAN
Witness to the first ever practice of the Miami Dolphins, 1966.
BigDogsHuntNew MemberHope they turn this into TV Documentary, would be so cool to be present when crates were opened, etc. Just amazing to think about...love those planes.
BDH -
"To me, there are three things we all should do every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And Number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy.
"If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special."
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OhiophinphanmoderatorI understand that the Spitfire was a warplane, that is an engine of destruction. That said, the Spit was, in my opinion, one of the most esthetically beautiful aircraft of WW II. That eliptical wing and balanced, streamlined look was breathtaking. A P-47 looked powerful, a P-38, curious, an FW-190, menacing, but a Spitfire was/is a beautiful piece of aircraft design.
OHIOPHINPHAN
Witness to the first ever practice of the Miami Dolphins, 1966.
padre31luxury_boxI liked the p-51's and P-40's.
Love what the AVG did in China, that is an incredible story.
Ohiophinphanmoderator"padre31 wrote:
I liked the p-51's and P-40's.
Love what the AVG did in China, that is an incredible story.
You may be aware of this but others may not. The AVG pilots had bought into the racial bias that all Japanese were terrified of Tigersharks so they wanted to call themselves the "Flying Tigers". They had meant the fish kind of tiger but then other folks who heard the name assumed they meant the striped cat since they were in the CBI theater and the rest is history. The pilots of the AVG averaged a huge number of hours in fighters (Over 700 hours if I remember correctly) and thus were an elite unit that would only rarely be matched throughout the war.
The P-51 Mustang was probably the most esthetically beautiful American figther. It is interesting that both the Spit and the Mustang were powered by the legendary Merlin engine. The best inline engine of WW II.
OHIOPHINPHAN
Witness to the first ever practice of the Miami Dolphins, 1966.
cdz12250subscriberA whole wing. Four squadrons. The Brits will go berserk. The National Trust will be all over it. Nonagenarian vets and soccer hooligans will pony up their quid for the restorations. The Queen will want a ride.
jdallen1222forum_veteranAny update on this? I think I heard they now believe the planes aren't there.
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Ohiophinphanmoderatorhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21483187
Originally it was thought as many as 124 Spitfires were buried by the RAF at the end of the war but they have now concluded it was a myth
It would have been very nice but alas......
OHIOPHINPHAN
Witness to the first ever practice of the Miami Dolphins, 1966.
FishweiserNew MemberDang!! I missed this thread somehow and just read it today. Too bad this didnt turn out to be true.
gafinfansubscriberI'm even later than you .... drats!
This is the only thing I’ve learned: There’s only us. There’s no them. Despots and authoritarians need to make a “them” to have a straw man whom you are against. If you need to make an enemy of “them,” you’ve lost the spirit of us. - Ken Burns of PBS
JasonNorinNew MemberQuite refreshing to read this types of news. Any updates about the planes this 2015?
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jdallen1222forum_veteranAbout 4 posts up, Ohionphinphan posted an update about the search being called off. Nothing was found, I guess they stopped looking. That was 2 years ago. Unless any promising leads come up, I can't see why they would resume searching if they haven't found anything by now.
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