20 Spitfires found in Burma
Wooden transit crates under 4m of wet tropical soil for 67 years??? Of course they'll be intact, not.
It would be marvellous if they were still complete but I think there are two chances of that:
1. Fat chance
2. No chance
Hopefully there will be salvageable components but I would strongly doubt that the returns would be worth the $500,000 it's estimated it's going to cost to dig them up. The only really valuable parts are the dataplates, everything else can be replicated and indeed has been in the past. One of the "original" Spits flying today was "rebuilt" from a firewall, where the dataplate is mounted, which only had bent engine bearers to the front of it and the windscreen and the remains of the instrument panel to the rear of it.
It would be marvellous if they were still complete but I think there are two chances of that:
1. Fat chance
2. No chance
Hopefully there will be salvageable components but I would strongly doubt that the returns would be worth the $500,000 it's estimated it's going to cost to dig them up. The only really valuable parts are the dataplates, everything else can be replicated and indeed has been in the past. One of the "original" Spits flying today was "rebuilt" from a firewall, where the dataplate is mounted, which only had bent engine bearers to the front of it and the windscreen and the remains of the instrument panel to the rear of it.
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Australia
Age: 51
Posts: 931
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Know what you're saying,
however, under the tropical soil, wrapped in tropical packaging, you'd be surprised what they will get back.
I'm not for a minute advocating, that they will be pristine in any sense of the word, but my experience with tropical packaging, is that they will get back something quite workable. A long way in front of something that was recovered crashed in the jungle, unwrapped, and exposed to natures fullest fury.
Crashed, or wrapped and buried, it will be interesting to see what mother earth gives back
however, under the tropical soil, wrapped in tropical packaging, you'd be surprised what they will get back.
I'm not for a minute advocating, that they will be pristine in any sense of the word, but my experience with tropical packaging, is that they will get back something quite workable. A long way in front of something that was recovered crashed in the jungle, unwrapped, and exposed to natures fullest fury.
Crashed, or wrapped and buried, it will be interesting to see what mother earth gives back
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: On the equator
Posts: 1,291
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This article written in 2001 actually mentions where the aircraft are buried (so much for all the secrecy) . Mingaladon airport is the international airport of Yangon (formerly Rangoon) and is also home to the Myanmar Airforce.
I'm actually going to be in Yangon next week, so will keep my eyes opened when I land for any excavating work going on there.
Here's the article I linked to above.
I'm actually going to be in Yangon next week, so will keep my eyes opened when I land for any excavating work going on there.
Here's the article I linked to above.
Race is on to find buried ‘treasures’ – Spitfires worth £6m
Published on Wednesday 9 May 2001 22:21
ENCASED in containers for 56 long years they have quietly decayed away, their once shining propellors and wings gathering mould in their underground tomb. Outside the temperature is in the 90s as passenger jets take off in the shimmering heat.
The scene is Mingaladon airport, Myanmar, formerly Burma, and according to farmer and inventor David Cundall hidden 6ft under the airfield are 12 brand new Spitfires, abandoned in 1945 and now worth a cool 6m.
Mr Cundall’s dream is to excavate the crates, restore the Spitfires, and finally see them fly again.
The farmer and inventor first heard stories about the aircraft 20 years ago, but only started researching them in earnest after a friend and former Spitfire pilot met some American veterans who described digging a trench for the aircraft during the Allied withdrawal of Burma.
Through his own work at the public records office at Kew and by placing advertisements in specialist magazines Mr Cundall, who invents farm machinery for a living, has been able to contact seven eyewitnesses, who have confirmed the story.
The aircraft were abandoned on the orders of Louis Mountbatten, the head of South East Asia Command, two weeks before the atomic bombs were dropped in August 1945, ending the Second World War.
Knowing exactly where to dig is the problem when work could undermine the stability of the adjacent international runway.
Another snag is that an Israeli competitor is on the case and has been given permission to make a search
Mr Cundall, 51, who lives in North Lincolnshire, has been out to Burma six times and has worked closely with the military authorities. He said: “We have an agreement with the military that we have our share and they have their share.
“What we really want to do is restore them and have them flying again.”
Mr Cundall – who describes his hobby as “digging up crashed aircraft” – is working with Dr Roger Clark, the head of earth sciences at Leeds University to analyse data from a ground penetrating radar which has been used to survey the 10-acre site. The radar has shown up “boxed shape images” which Mr Cundall believes are the outlines of the containers.
He added: “The story I originally heard was that in August 1945 a group from a construction battalion were passing through Rangoon on the way to Singapore and they were asked to bury 12 planes – they actually questioned the order as it was so unusual.
“When I heard this many years ago Burma was a closed country. I advertised extensively and come up with seven eyewitnesses and 20 who know about the burials.
“Seventy per cent of the area has been searched, and another eyewitness who came along last year is positive he knows where they are and has sent me maps and an outline.
“However, the Burmese say we need more eyewitnesses to exactly pinpoint the place otherwise they’re not going to let us dig. They’re worried about undermining the foundations of the airfield.
“We also have a competitor, an Israeli pilot, who has paid a substantial amount of money to gain the contract to excavate the Spitfires. But his contract expires this month – and with a bit of luck we might be going back out in a week or 10 days.’’
Principal keeper of archaeology at North Lincolnshire Museum Kevin Leahy said the wings and fuselages were made out of thin aluminium and could have crumbled away – but if they were covered in grease and oil, or wax paper ready for a sea transit, they could be all right.
Mr Cundall needs more letters from eyewitnesses spelling out the exact location to convince the military. Anyone who can help is asked to contact him via the Yorkshire Post Hull office at Regent House, Ferensway, Hull, HU1 3PT or by e-mailing [email protected].
Published on Wednesday 9 May 2001 22:21
ENCASED in containers for 56 long years they have quietly decayed away, their once shining propellors and wings gathering mould in their underground tomb. Outside the temperature is in the 90s as passenger jets take off in the shimmering heat.
The scene is Mingaladon airport, Myanmar, formerly Burma, and according to farmer and inventor David Cundall hidden 6ft under the airfield are 12 brand new Spitfires, abandoned in 1945 and now worth a cool 6m.
Mr Cundall’s dream is to excavate the crates, restore the Spitfires, and finally see them fly again.
The farmer and inventor first heard stories about the aircraft 20 years ago, but only started researching them in earnest after a friend and former Spitfire pilot met some American veterans who described digging a trench for the aircraft during the Allied withdrawal of Burma.
Through his own work at the public records office at Kew and by placing advertisements in specialist magazines Mr Cundall, who invents farm machinery for a living, has been able to contact seven eyewitnesses, who have confirmed the story.
The aircraft were abandoned on the orders of Louis Mountbatten, the head of South East Asia Command, two weeks before the atomic bombs were dropped in August 1945, ending the Second World War.
Knowing exactly where to dig is the problem when work could undermine the stability of the adjacent international runway.
Another snag is that an Israeli competitor is on the case and has been given permission to make a search
Mr Cundall, 51, who lives in North Lincolnshire, has been out to Burma six times and has worked closely with the military authorities. He said: “We have an agreement with the military that we have our share and they have their share.
“What we really want to do is restore them and have them flying again.”
Mr Cundall – who describes his hobby as “digging up crashed aircraft” – is working with Dr Roger Clark, the head of earth sciences at Leeds University to analyse data from a ground penetrating radar which has been used to survey the 10-acre site. The radar has shown up “boxed shape images” which Mr Cundall believes are the outlines of the containers.
He added: “The story I originally heard was that in August 1945 a group from a construction battalion were passing through Rangoon on the way to Singapore and they were asked to bury 12 planes – they actually questioned the order as it was so unusual.
“When I heard this many years ago Burma was a closed country. I advertised extensively and come up with seven eyewitnesses and 20 who know about the burials.
“Seventy per cent of the area has been searched, and another eyewitness who came along last year is positive he knows where they are and has sent me maps and an outline.
“However, the Burmese say we need more eyewitnesses to exactly pinpoint the place otherwise they’re not going to let us dig. They’re worried about undermining the foundations of the airfield.
“We also have a competitor, an Israeli pilot, who has paid a substantial amount of money to gain the contract to excavate the Spitfires. But his contract expires this month – and with a bit of luck we might be going back out in a week or 10 days.’’
Principal keeper of archaeology at North Lincolnshire Museum Kevin Leahy said the wings and fuselages were made out of thin aluminium and could have crumbled away – but if they were covered in grease and oil, or wax paper ready for a sea transit, they could be all right.
Mr Cundall needs more letters from eyewitnesses spelling out the exact location to convince the military. Anyone who can help is asked to contact him via the Yorkshire Post Hull office at Regent House, Ferensway, Hull, HU1 3PT or by e-mailing [email protected].
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: london
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
British farmer’s quest to find lost Spitfires in Burma - Telegraph
This is probably the best article I've found - an interview with David Cundall by the Telegraph. Makes some interesting points - apparently a borehole has been dug down to the crates, and a camera shows them to be in 'good condition'. Plus, they put teak beams over the crates when covering them so they wouldn't crush.
He says there are another 60 Spits buried elsewhere in Burma. Oh my! To a massive Spitfire enthusiast, this whole thing probably couldn't be any more exciting... and they may start digging in the next three to four weeks!
This is probably the best article I've found - an interview with David Cundall by the Telegraph. Makes some interesting points - apparently a borehole has been dug down to the crates, and a camera shows them to be in 'good condition'. Plus, they put teak beams over the crates when covering them so they wouldn't crush.
He says there are another 60 Spits buried elsewhere in Burma. Oh my! To a massive Spitfire enthusiast, this whole thing probably couldn't be any more exciting... and they may start digging in the next three to four weeks!
Join Date: Feb 1998
Location: Formerly of Nam
Posts: 1,595
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oh my! To a massive Spitfire enthusiast, this whole thing probably couldn't be any more exciting...
mount my own Burma expedition to dig up one for meself.
Man Bilong Balus long PNG
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Looking forward to returning to Japan soon but in the meantime continuing the never ending search for a bad bottle of Red!
Age: 69
Posts: 2,980
Received 109 Likes
on
62 Posts
Meet you in Yangon airport, I'll bring the shovels!
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Wentworth
Age: 60
Posts: 212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The first tiny shadow of doubt is that he's standing there with a painting of a Spit in his hands, and not one of his borehole photos of the real thing, or at least something recognisable as part of a crate.
Join Date: Feb 1998
Location: Formerly of Nam
Posts: 1,595
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oh, and Slasher, Who buys the first round of beers?
I'll supply all the piss, mules, and local carry-boys while you
blokes supply the digging equipment. We will also be needing
drilling equipment, a forklift, a couple of local buxom harlots
(we may be there a long time), some gelignite and a bobcat.
These items we can probably scrounge up in Yangon.
We have to decide about the Spits themselves - do we dig up
one for each of us? Or just go dig up one and go into a sort've
partnership of sorts? If we choose the latter who's garage will
house the crate? And more importantly who'll be organised to
pull out the thing and assemble it?
Youse diggers...
When you "consortium" of Spitfire freaks have your sample, I will make the hangar freely available for the re-build... and assist with the resto.
Only reqd payment will be that I get to FLY it.
Seriously, it will be VERY interesting to see these airfames back in the light of day....and their condition.
Here's to a good result.
Only reqd payment will be that I get to FLY it.
Seriously, it will be VERY interesting to see these airfames back in the light of day....and their condition.
Here's to a good result.
ps...
Re YBCV. Just another mongered rumour??.... or is there any evidence to back it up. ?
Ditto with the Spits buried near Darwin.
Wasnt everything flown to Oakey for the big melt down.
Ditto with the Spits buried near Darwin.
Wasnt everything flown to Oakey for the big melt down.
I have a book on the recovery from the ice cap in Iceland of "Glacier Girl" one of a squadron of P-38s lost in WW2:
Glacier Girl - The Lost Squadron (Recovery of a P-38 from beneath a Greenland ice cap)
Glacier Girl - The Lost Squadron (Recovery of a P-38 from beneath a Greenland ice cap)
Oh. theyre Mark 16 or something with Griffons now? Well they wouldnt have been Mk1's in '45.
Mk XVI's we not Griffon powered; As a matter of interest it was a Mk IX with a Packard Merlin..
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: The 'Bat Cave' @ HLP in the Big Durian Indo
Age: 61
Posts: 781
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
They better take a couple of shipping containers of US$ , with all the press exposure there's going to be a long queue of local thugs, police, army officers (at all levels) and customs officials with their hands out. It would be a nightmare recovery operation even with UK government sanction.
From AVweb......30/4/2012.
"Dogfight Brewing Over Burmese Spitfires,
British farmer and aviation history buff David Cundall now says there are 124 new Spitfires buried in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and he knows where 60 of them are. As we reported two weeks ago, Cundall stunned the aviation world with news that he had found at least 20 crated, brand-new Spitfires wrapped in protective paper and tar to preserve them. Whether he'll be able to capitalize on his stunning discovery is in question, however, as treasure hunters from all over the world race against each other and the impending monsoon season to dig the pickled aircraft up. In an email exchange a week ago, Cundall told AVweb he was having problems with financial backers who now may be rivals for the treasure trove. Cundall has not returned subsequent email and phone messages from AVweb. He did, however, claim in an interview with the Independent that a British businessman is trying to hijack the project with the help of the country's prime minister.
Cundall told AVweb he had originally struck a deal with an American backer to fund the recovery of the aircraft but it fell through. He was then approached by Steve Boultbee Brooks, a land developer and aviation buff who owns a two-seat Spitfire. He alleges Boultbee Brooks, who accompanied Prime Minister David Cameron on a trade and political mission to Myanmar two weeks ago, used his attendance on the trip to engineer discussions between Cameron and Myanmar President Thein Sein on repatriation of the aircraft. Brooks does indeed appear to be assuming a lead role in digging up the planes.
In an email to AVweb, Brooks' public relations consultant Elizabeth Tagge declined an interview but said there will soon be public access to news on the effort. "The team is entirely focused on the next stage of the project at this point and won't be giving interviews just yet," Tagge said. "However, there should be a Facebook page up soon, which we'll update when there is news to help keep everyone aware of progress."
Meanwhile, Brooks himself told the Independent that he hopes Cundall will be "on board" with the recovery effort. Cundall says he'll be involved all right, as the holder of all the important cards in a high-stakes game that involves cutting the Myanmar government in for 40 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the aircraft. "We were issued a permit to dig, which is still a valid and exclusive agreement," he said. "The President of Burma wants to do business with me." Cundall said he has a buyer who will take all the aircraft at about $1.5 million each. Boultbee Brooks said it would be a shame for the aircraft to end up anywhere but Britain and he noted there are other groups in the U.S., Israel and Australia hoping to claim the aircraft. "What a terrible day this is when the prime minister has gone out and got a British team, we put a British team together, and then we squabble so much that we allow other nations to walk in and take the Spitfires from under our noses," he said.
This is gunna get 'dirty'.......
"Dogfight Brewing Over Burmese Spitfires,
British farmer and aviation history buff David Cundall now says there are 124 new Spitfires buried in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and he knows where 60 of them are. As we reported two weeks ago, Cundall stunned the aviation world with news that he had found at least 20 crated, brand-new Spitfires wrapped in protective paper and tar to preserve them. Whether he'll be able to capitalize on his stunning discovery is in question, however, as treasure hunters from all over the world race against each other and the impending monsoon season to dig the pickled aircraft up. In an email exchange a week ago, Cundall told AVweb he was having problems with financial backers who now may be rivals for the treasure trove. Cundall has not returned subsequent email and phone messages from AVweb. He did, however, claim in an interview with the Independent that a British businessman is trying to hijack the project with the help of the country's prime minister.
Cundall told AVweb he had originally struck a deal with an American backer to fund the recovery of the aircraft but it fell through. He was then approached by Steve Boultbee Brooks, a land developer and aviation buff who owns a two-seat Spitfire. He alleges Boultbee Brooks, who accompanied Prime Minister David Cameron on a trade and political mission to Myanmar two weeks ago, used his attendance on the trip to engineer discussions between Cameron and Myanmar President Thein Sein on repatriation of the aircraft. Brooks does indeed appear to be assuming a lead role in digging up the planes.
In an email to AVweb, Brooks' public relations consultant Elizabeth Tagge declined an interview but said there will soon be public access to news on the effort. "The team is entirely focused on the next stage of the project at this point and won't be giving interviews just yet," Tagge said. "However, there should be a Facebook page up soon, which we'll update when there is news to help keep everyone aware of progress."
Meanwhile, Brooks himself told the Independent that he hopes Cundall will be "on board" with the recovery effort. Cundall says he'll be involved all right, as the holder of all the important cards in a high-stakes game that involves cutting the Myanmar government in for 40 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the aircraft. "We were issued a permit to dig, which is still a valid and exclusive agreement," he said. "The President of Burma wants to do business with me." Cundall said he has a buyer who will take all the aircraft at about $1.5 million each. Boultbee Brooks said it would be a shame for the aircraft to end up anywhere but Britain and he noted there are other groups in the U.S., Israel and Australia hoping to claim the aircraft. "What a terrible day this is when the prime minister has gone out and got a British team, we put a British team together, and then we squabble so much that we allow other nations to walk in and take the Spitfires from under our noses," he said.
This is gunna get 'dirty'.......