Buried
treasure in Burma:
Squadron
of lost WWII Spitfires to be exhumed
Published April 19, 2012
FoxNews.com
A Spitfire LF Mk IX,
flown by New Zealander Ray Hanna in 2005. (Wikipedia / Franck Cabrol)
Yar -- it's buried PILOT
treasure!
Like a treasure chest
stuffed with priceless booty, as many as 20 World War II-era Spitfire planes
are perfectly preserved, buried in crates beneath Burma -- and after 67 years
underground, they're set to be uncovered.
The planes were shipped
in standard fashion in 1945 from their manufacturer in England to the Far East
country: waxed, wrapped in greased paper and tarred to protect against the
elements. They were then buried in the crates they were shipped in, rather than
let them fall into enemy hands, said David Cundall, an aviation enthusiast who
has spent 15 years and about $200,000 in his efforts to reveal the lost planes.
The 62-year-old man -- a
British farmer by trade -- realized the fate of the aircraft thanks to an
offhand comment a group of American veterans made to a friend, he told the
Sydney Morning Herald.
'We've done some pretty
silly things in our time, but the silliest was burying Spitfires.'
- David Cundall,
aviation enthusiast
''They told Jim: 'We've
done some pretty silly things in our time, but the silliest was burying
Spitfires.' And when Jim got back from the U.S., he told me,'" Cundall
said.
The location of the
planes, which remains a closely kept secret, was confirmed during a recent trip
to the Far East country, he said.
''We sent a borehole
down and used a camera to look at the crates. They seemed to be in good
condition," Cundall told
the Herald.
The Spitfire Mark XIV
planes are rare for more than one reason: They used Rolls Royce Griffon engines
rather than the Merlins used in earlier models to achieve tremendous speeds.
Griffon-powered planes could reach 440 mph thanks to the hefty,
2,050-horsepower engines.
When production of the
planes ultimately ended in 1947, 20,334 Spitfires of all versions had been
produced, but just 2,053 of them were Griffon-powered versions, according to Encyclopedia
Britannica.
The planes were deemed
surplus and were buried in Aug., 1945 -- potentially along with another eight
later in the year. At that time, propeller planes were falling out of fashion
in favor of newer jet-engine designs -- Cundall said Spitfires "were 10 a
penny." British military officials decided burying them was cheaper and
more practical than bringing them home.
International sanctions
prevent military material from leaving the country, but a recent visit by
British Prime Minister David Cameron may enable the safe exhumation and return
of the planes to England.
Only about 35 Spitfires
are currently flying.
Peter’s Comment
I have a selection of
Spitfires on Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. They are a real pleasure to fly
and very realistic. In fact they are so realistic that all models can swing on
take-off if you let them take over your concentration. However, the
contra-rotating prop version will only swing if you’ve factored in some wind.
Great for aerobatics.
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