Burmese Spitfires
 

My friend and I are going on a social to Myanmar in Janaury and we are both " in the trade " so to speak. Does anyone know if we can realistically get a chance to get near the Spitfire site which is of course now well documented. Any thoughts from you all much appreciated, thanks, Terry.

Is there actually any definite moves to excavate the site? Or is there still a lot of crooked palms to be greased, before anything can happen?
The news feeds since all the hoo-ha about Camerons intervention in Apr/May has been precisely zilch.

I have extreme doubts about whether aircraft buried without massive protection from the elements could survive in any restorable condition, after 67 yrs under the ground, and under the effects of a tropical, monsoonal climate.

Yes, they may have been crated - and yes, they may have been coated in Cosmoline and suchlike - but none of this lasts more than a few years against the ravages of soil chemicals and water ingress.

Does anyone recall the recovery of the new, unused '57 Plymouth Belvedere in the time-capsule concrete bunker in Tulsa in the U.S. in 2007?
When it was lowered into the bunker, it was sealed and protected to the nth degree with all the high-tech, state-of-the-art corrosion protection - but when it was recovered, it was virtually scrap metal. :{

The crates would have rotted and collapsed under the weight of the soil. Think Terracotta Warriors or IKEA.

The Terracotta warriors were made by IKEA? Figures - in a sweat shop, self assembley?

What would so many Spits do to the overall value of the marque if so many were exhumed.

Don't forget that so long as you have the correct bits of authentication you're on a winner.

Any car restorers care to comment?:E

SGC

Personally, I have grave misgivings about the whole story but thought I would ask anyway - thanks.

You may not be so far off. This is from Wikipedia.

The difference of course is that there is a shred, just the tiniest shred of evidence for the existence of the Terracotta Army which is more than you can say for the Burmese Spitfires. Or the dozen MB5s wrapped in marzipan under my garden. Or Alien abductions.

I was going to ask about these buried spitfires....

Obviously nobody has any further news regarding them - should they exist.

I honestly hope they do, and that there's something left of them to create another spitfire and get it into the sky - assuming of course they are found.

Dan

So long as you get the data plate, someone can build you a Spitfire around it.:ok:

Mosquitos don't seem to be too much of a problem in this neck of the woods so I guess a Spitfire shouldn't be to difficult.

When this was first announced, I imagined the aircraft to be in wooden crates, and entombed in an underground concrete bunker, as appose to burried in sand/soil like a coffin would be.

Therefore in my simple mind,vthey could be uncrated, checked over and probably assembled over however many years.

Dan

The only way you'd bury several crates of Spitfires would be to shove them into a disused quarry or claypit and bulldoze a covering over them. Trying to get a bunch of mutinous conscripts, all of them eager to get back to Blighty, to dig a big hole and bury a squadron rather than smash them up and set fire to the remains, seems to be rather optimistic. :rolleyes:

I agree Mig15, if the bits of Spitfire I dug up as a child on a crash site near my parents house in Biggin were anything to go by. The only bits that really survived in a recognisable state were any stainless steel bits and brass items. All the alloy has turned crystaline in the damp soil, would be much the same in Burma I fear.

As no actual Burmese Spitfire structure has surfaced to date nobody at this stage knows the condition.

I personally have seen Spitfire crash wreckage come out of the ground in Europe with both ferrous and aluminium structure as crisp and clean as the day it went in. I have seen Spitfires recovered from salt water beaches that are now flying. I have seen Spitfires recovered from fresh water where the steel parts were rotted through. I have seen buried and smashed Spitfires recovered in Australia that are forming the basis of rebuilds to flying condition.

Time will tell, but I personally am optimistic.

It is being reported over here today that Burma has signed a deal with a British aviation enthusiast to allow the excavation of Spitfire aircraft buried by the British almost 70 years ago. The excavation is slated to begin by the end of October.

The Myanma Ahlin daily reported that the excavation agreement was signed on 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.

Bob C

20, dozens, 60? How many of the bloody things are there?

Our ever reliable national broadcaster is breathlessly reporting that David Cameron negotiated the agreement to recover 60 Spitfires that were buried "to prevent them falling into the hands of the advancing Japanese".

Oh, and each is worth $2.5 million. :rolleyes:

Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to seeing what might eventuate.

Quote "Has anyone actually seen any pictures of the inside of one of the crates?"

Bore holes and core samples - yes.

Images - not to my knowledge.

A sprinkling of 'paper-talk' I'm afraid.