Buried crated British Spitfires to be unearthed.

[powderman]

YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar 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 Myanmar earlier this year.

The excavation of the rare planes is slated to begin by the end of October.

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 Myanmar partner, the Shwe Taung Paw company.

"It took 16 years for Mr. David Cundall to locate the planes buried in crates. We estimate that there are at least 60 Spitfires buried and they are in good condition," Htoo Htoo Zaw said.

"This will be the largest number of Spitfires in the world," he said. "We want to let people see those historic fighters, and the excavation of these fighter planes will further strengthen relations between Myanmar and Britain."

The British Embassy described the agreement as a chance to work with Myanmar's new reformist government "in uncovering, restoring, displaying these fighter planes."

"We hope that many of them will be gracing the skies of Britain and as discussed, some will be displayed here in Burma," said an embassy spokesman, using the old name for Myanmar.

Myanmar has since last the past year turned away from many of the repressive policies of the previous military government and patched up relations with Western nations that had previously shunned it.

Myanma Ahlin cited Transport Minister Nyan Tun Aung saying the agreement was a milestone strengthening the friendly relationship between Myanmar and Britain and amounts to the British government's recognition of the democratic reforms of President Thein Sein's new government.

Cundall has said his quest to find the planes involved 12 trips to Myanmar and the expenditure of more than 130,000 pounds ($210,000).



http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_21791797/60-wwii-british-spitfire-fighter-planes-buried-crates?source=rss

[AtlLaw]

I don't care what model Spit they are, that is one sexy airplane!      I have always wanted to fly one... 

[yellowtail3]

I don't care what model Spit they are, that is one sexy airplane!      I have always wanted to fly one... 

wonderful a/c. It never would have been accepted for US service - too single-focus, not very flexible - but is was a beauty, and proved more 'improvable' than it's arch-nemesis, the Bf109.

Spit Mk IX and BF109F were just about right...

[powderman]

I don't care what model Spit they are, that is one sexy airplane!      I have always wanted to fly one... 

 
ATLAW. Me too, I really hope they were packed well and damage is minimal. I'd love to see one up close. POWDERMAN. 

[guzzijohn]

They are one of the most beautiful fighter designs ever. From what I have read over the years once in the air they are a very easy plane to fly. During takeoff and landing they still have the same challenges as any tail dragger does with a big engine up front. Hope they are found in good condition. Probably the only two weak points were that they were somewhat under armed until the later models and that they had very short range but then they were designed to be a defensive fighter (which they were great at) and range was not a serious consideration.
GuzziJohn

[Greg B.]

Back in the late 1960's I spoke to a man who was a Spitfire pilot. He said they flew beautifully but on takeoff you had to advance the throttle slowly. On his first attempt  he proceeded to move the throttle at what he thought was "slowly" and the plane promptly did a ground loop around the control tower. 
 

[Anna]

My brother was stationed in Keflavik Iceland, when the British there went up on a glacier to excavate
a very rare ME 109 prototype.That's a Messerschmitt if you didn't know .
He was one of the US Sailors that was ordered to go with the British to help dig it out of the ice.
He said the pilot was still in the plane and had survived the landing only to freeze to death.
He also said it was very erie,that the pilot was in a remarkably preserved condition.And that he still
had his frozen hands on the controls of his radio where he must have been trying to call for help.
The aircraft was immaculate,it had ran out of fuel because of a bad fuel switch and had not crash
landed like was once thought.It had to be on a spy mission with some sort of extra fuel pods.That were
not with the aircraft at the time of its recovery.The poor guy had just ran out of gas,and the German
Government came over to retrieve the body and bury it with honors.

[yellowtail3]

My brother was stationed in Keflavik Iceland, when the British there went up on a glacier to excavate
a very rare ME 109 prototype.That's a Messerschmitt if you didn't know .
He was one of the US Sailors that was ordered to go with the British to help dig it out of the ice.
He said the pilot was still in the plane and had survived the landing only to freeze to death.
He also said it was very erie,that the pilot was in a remarkably preserved condition.And that he still
had his frozen hands on the controls of his radio where he must have been trying to call for help.
The aircraft was immaculate,it had ran out of fuel because of a bad fuel switch and had not crash
landed like was once thought.It had to be on a spy mission with some sort of extra fuel pods.That were
not with the aircraft at the time of its recovery.The poor guy had just ran out of gas,and the German
Government came over to retrieve the body and bury it with honors.

An interesting story. I wonder how that 109 got there; the closest German bases would have been occupied Norway, probably around Bergen, something like 800-1000 miles... a 109 wouldn't have a prayer making that round-trip, even loaded with drop tanks, and it would take some pretty good navigating to hit Iceland from Norway. About the only thing the Germans regularly flew that far out were FW200s and twin-engined bombers; a 109 would never make it. Maybe he wanted to defect... ?

[Anna]

www.nordicway.com/search/WWII.htm

www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/23/a4162123.shtml

It could have been there since before the war , but it was not unusual to find downed Nazi aircraft littered across the Icelandic countryside.  Perhaps it was a one way ride for that pilot, and like you said he may have lost his way due to faulty navigation like so many others had. My brother says that a lot of Icelanders were sympathetic to the Germans during WW2.  And then later to the USSR, and in fact it is the British that they do not much care for .


It is feasible that the pilot of that aircraft thought that he was going to be able to refuel and return home. By reading those articles I posted there is no telling what kind of documents he may have
been carrying, at a time right before Iceland declared its neutrality in the war .
With the US Navy being involved and using one of its older LARK vehicles to get there. It could have been something that could have proven to be very embarrassing to the Icelandic government or to.   the British. And what better way to get it there than a small unnoticeable little fighter?

[kennyd]

Now you did it!  I googled the 109 and then followed on to some of the other you tubes.  A Spitfire gun buried in peat that would still fire(after cleaning), Verdun; lots of old munitions I would NOT want to move.