A Sqaudron of Spitfires coming home?

[dubai_phil]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9203822/Spitfires-buried-in-Burma-during-war-to-be-returned-to-UK.html

 

Now that is an interesting story.

 

Would be astonishing if the Packaging kept them intact all these years.

 

12 Spits flying in formation again - what a sight that would be

[Whitey Grandad]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9203822/Spitfires-buried-in-Burma-during-war-to-be-returned-to-UK.html

 

Now that is an interesting story.

 

Would be astonishing if the Packaging kept them intact all these years.

 

12 Spits flying in formation again - what a sight that would be[/quote

 

I remember the 50th anniversary of the maiden flight. I was driving east on the M27 down the hill from the Chilworth area when about 7 spitfires flew overhead in line-astern in a left-hand bank and landed at Eastleigh airport. I couldn't keep my eyes on the road.

[dubai_phil]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9203822/Spitfires-buried-in-Burma-during-war-to-be-returned-to-UK.html

 

Now that is an interesting story.

 

Would be astonishing if the Packaging kept them intact all these years.

 

12 Spits flying in formation again - what a sight that would be[/quote

 

I remember the 50th anniversary of the maiden flight. I was driving east on the M27 down the hill from the Chilworth area when about 7 spitfires flew overhead in line-astern in a left-hand bank and landed at Eastleigh airport. I couldn't keep my eyes on the road.

 

I know we had a thread about the sound of the Engine a while ago, but to think there may be 12 of them still in the wrappers is amazing

 

Sounds like a History Channel special is needed

[sfcuk fan]

We all would like to achieve things in life, but wow if this guy sees his dream of a squadron of spitfires flying overhead that HE found come true , then what an achievement that will be for him ! Good work sir !

[Whitey Grandad]

We all would like to achieve things in life, but wow if this guy sees his dream of a squadron of spitfires flying overhead that HE found come true , then what an achievement that will be for him ! Good work sir !

 

Agreed. Must be worth a knighthood at least.

[Kingsland Red]

My father flew them in North Africa and Malta in WW2.

I went up on the roof of Great Ormond Street Hospital when about eight flew very low and in formation over London on 8th May 1985 ( VE Day 40th anniversary)

That Merlin engine overhead is always a spine tingling moment.

[hamster]

If anyone wants a pdf copy of the 'Spitfire Munument - Design and Access' document for the sculpture planned for Town Quay let me know.

 

I'm fairly certain that it's in the public domain now but just in case, don't tell no-one where you got it from...nudge nudge, wink wink, nods as good as a wink to a blind bat...and all that....

 

It's 48 pages but has some great artist impressions included.

 

It's gonna be a bit on the big side, I'll try to upload an image in a mo.

[Whitey Grandad]

If anyone wants a pdf copy of the 'Spitfire Munument - Design and Access' document for the sculpture planned for Town Quay let me know.

 

I'm fairly certain that it's in the public domain now but just in case, don't tell no-one where you got it from...nudge nudge, wink wink, nods as good as a wink to a blind bat...and all that....

 

It's 48 pages but has some great artist impressions included.

 

It's gonna be a bit on the big side, I'll try to upload an image in a mo.

 

Did anything happen with that proposal for a giant sculpture on top of a hill, near Rownhams I think? It would have been a spitfire standing on its tail, rather like the Angel of the North.

[hamster]

Did anything happen with that proposal for a giant sculpture on top of a hill, near Rownhams I think? It would have been a spitfire standing on its tail, rather like the Angel of the North.

 

Never heard that one but I'm told that the Town Quay proposal is in full swing.

[hamster]

Never heard that one but I'm told that the Trafalgar Dock (WHEREVER THAT IS?) proposal is in full swing.

 

Trafalgar Dock apparently not Town Quay.

[Jonnyboy]

That's pretty cool, fairplay to Cameron on that one.

[Whitey Grandad]

Trafalgar Dock apparently not Town Quay.

 

At the end of the dock past Ocean Terminal: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/district/southampton/9408620.__2m_Spitfire_monument_is_on_launch_pad/

[LVSaint]

 

Sounds like a History Channel special is needed

 

I would expect it to be video documented. Very exciting.

[alpine_saint]

Rolls Royce Merlin - the sound of freedom. I really wonder what condition these planes will be in. I also wouldnt be surprised if there are other such caches through the old colonies.

 

I remember back in August 2009 sitting in the little park by the side of the Royal Yachting Club in Cowes. Was the weekend of the Bournemouth Airshow, and the BBMF flew by about 100m out from the shore. After they went I realise I had to pick my jaw up off the ground..

 

For all you fans - the BBMF will do a fly over of Southampton on 15th August

 

and....

 

I understand that it will be based for its days flying schedue on the 19th August....at Southampton Airport.

 

http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/rafcms/mediafiles/19A77756_5056_A318_A8B89077B6E19832.xls

Edited 16 April, 2012 by alpine_saint

[pfc123]

A bit more info- they are Mk XIV's so have 2000 h.p. Griffon engines rather than Merlins. They're 30-40 feet down and there are apparently further pockets of buried spits across Burma in groups of 6, 18 and 36. Digging starts in 3-4 weeks.

 

Suspect Baldrick is on his way already....

 

 

"Extraordinary plans to raise a lost squadron of Spitfires that has lain buried in Myanmar since the end of the Second World War were revealed this weekend as British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the capital, Yangon.

 

Now, the Lincolnshire farmer who devoted 15 years of his life to finding the planes has spoken about his quest to recover them and get them airborne.

 

David Cundall, 62, of Sandtoft, near S****horpe, has spent more than $200,000, visited Myanmar 12 times, persuaded the country's secretive regime to trust him, and all the time sought testimony from a dwindling band of Far East veterans to locate the Spitfires.

 

His treasure hunt was sparked by little more than a throwaway remark from a group of U.S. veterans made 15 years ago to his friend and fellow aviation archeologist, Jim Pearce.

 

"They told Jim: 'We've done some pretty silly things in our time, but the silliest was burying Spitfires,' " Cundall said. "And when Jim got back from the U.S., he told me."

 

Cundall realized the Spitfires would have been buried as they had been shipped, still in their crates.

 

Before they were shipped to the Far East, they would have been waxed, wrapped in greased paper and their joints tarred, to protect them against the elements. There seemed to be a chance that somewhere in Myanmar, there lay Spitfires that could be restored to flying condition.

 

The first step was to place advertisements in magazines, trying to find soldiers who buried Spitfires.

 

"The trouble was that many of them were dying of old age," Cundall said.

 

He visited Myanmar over and over, slowly building friendly relations with its military junta.

 

"In the end, they (Myanma minders) trusted me so much they would let me hold their AK-47s while they ate the lunch I had bought them."

 

Finally, he found the Spitfires, at a location that is being kept a secret.

 

"We sent a borehole down and used a camera to look at the crates," Cundall said. "They seemed to be in good condition."

 

In August 1945, the Mark XIV airplanes, which used Rolls-Royce Griffon engines instead of the Merlins of earlier models, were put in crates and transported from the factory in Castle Bromwich, in the West Midlands, to Myanmar.

 

Once they arrived, however, the Spitfires were deemed surplus to requirements.

 

The war was in its final months and fighting was increasingly confined to "islandhopping" to clear the Japanese of their remaining strongholds in the Pacific. Land-based Spitfires, as opposed to a carrierbased variant, Seafires, did not have the required range.

 

The order was given to bury 12 Spitfires without even unpacking them.

 

It is possible that a further eight Spitfires were then buried in December 1945, bringing the potential total to 20.

 

"In 1945, Spitfires were 10 a penny," Cundall said. "Jets were coming into service. Spitfires were struck off charge, unwanted. Lots of Spitfires were just pushed off the back of aircraft carriers into the sea. On land, you couldn't leave them for the locals - they might have ended up being used against you."

 

To meet the $800,000 cost of the excavation, Cundall enlisted the help of Steve Boultbee Brooks, a 51-year-old commercial property investor who runs the Boultbee Flight Academy in Chichester, West Sussex, which teaches people to fly in a two-seater Spitfire that Brooks bought for close to $3 million in 2009.

 

Ground radar images showed that inside the crates were Spitfires with their wings packed alongside the fuselages.

 

The Britons want to work to restore as many of the 20 Spitfires as possible and get them flying. There are only about 35 flying in the world.

 

"Spitfires are beautiful airplanes and should not be rotting away in a foreign land," Cundall said.

 

The final obstacle to recovering the Spitfires, however, is political: international sanctions forbid the movement of military materials in and out of Myanmar, and it was also feared the Myanmar government would not allow any foreign excavations.

 

However, because of the new, reforming stance of the Myanmar government, the sanctions on movement of military material will be lifted on April 23.

 

With the help of Cameron and his visit to Myanmar, a deal is being negotiated and hopes are high that it will conclude with Thein Sein, the president of Myanmar, granting permission for the dig.

 

"Our hope is that we can be digging them out in the next three or four weeks," said Brooks, who returned to his home Saturday after helping open negotiations.

 

"They have been in the ground for more than 65 years, so it is not a case of taking them out of the crates, putting them together and flying them. There is a lot of work to do. We may have to use parts of many planes to make perhaps a couple airworthy.

 

"But if the crates didn't get waterlogged, the Spitfires might be in pretty amazing condition. It's also encouraging that they put teak beams over the crates so they wouldn't be crushed by the earth when they were buried."

 

Cundall raised the tantalizing prospect that there may be more buried Spitfires.

 

"It's possible there are other Spitfires buried around different sites in Myanmar. I have heard about 36 in one burial; 18 in another; six in another. And when they were buried, they would have been brand new, never taken out of the box."

[alpine_saint]

A bit more info- they are Mk XIV's so have 2000 h.p. Griffon engines rather than Merlins. They're 30-40 feet down and there are apparently further pockets of buried spits across Burma in groups of 6, 18 and 36. Digging starts in 3-4 weeks.

 

Suspect Baldrick is on his way already....

 

 

"Extraordinary plans to raise a lost squadron of Spitfires that has lain buried in Myanmar since the end of the Second World War were revealed this weekend as British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the capital, Yangon.

 

Now, the Lincolnshire farmer who devoted 15 years of his life to finding the planes has spoken about his quest to recover them and get them airborne.

 

David Cundall, 62, of Sandtoft, near S****horpe, has spent more than $200,000, visited Myanmar 12 times, persuaded the country's secretive regime to trust him, and all the time sought testimony from a dwindling band of Far East veterans to locate the Spitfires.

 

His treasure hunt was sparked by little more than a throwaway remark from a group of U.S. veterans made 15 years ago to his friend and fellow aviation archeologist, Jim Pearce.

 

"They told Jim: 'We've done some pretty silly things in our time, but the silliest was burying Spitfires,' " Cundall said. "And when Jim got back from the U.S., he told me."

 

Cundall realized the Spitfires would have been buried as they had been shipped, still in their crates.

 

Before they were shipped to the Far East, they would have been waxed, wrapped in greased paper and their joints tarred, to protect them against the elements. There seemed to be a chance that somewhere in Myanmar, there lay Spitfires that could be restored to flying condition.

 

The first step was to place advertisements in magazines, trying to find soldiers who buried Spitfires.

 

"The trouble was that many of them were dying of old age," Cundall said.

 

He visited Myanmar over and over, slowly building friendly relations with its military junta.

 

"In the end, they (Myanma minders) trusted me so much they would let me hold their AK-47s while they ate the lunch I had bought them."

 

Finally, he found the Spitfires, at a location that is being kept a secret.

 

"We sent a borehole down and used a camera to look at the crates," Cundall said. "They seemed to be in good condition."

 

In August 1945, the Mark XIV airplanes, which used Rolls-Royce Griffon engines instead of the Merlins of earlier models, were put in crates and transported from the factory in Castle Bromwich, in the West Midlands, to Myanmar.

 

Once they arrived, however, the Spitfires were deemed surplus to requirements.

 

The war was in its final months and fighting was increasingly confined to "islandhopping" to clear the Japanese of their remaining strongholds in the Pacific. Land-based Spitfires, as opposed to a carrierbased variant, Seafires, did not have the required range.

 

The order was given to bury 12 Spitfires without even unpacking them.

 

It is possible that a further eight Spitfires were then buried in December 1945, bringing the potential total to 20.

 

"In 1945, Spitfires were 10 a penny," Cundall said. "Jets were coming into service. Spitfires were struck off charge, unwanted. Lots of Spitfires were just pushed off the back of aircraft carriers into the sea. On land, you couldn't leave them for the locals - they might have ended up being used against you."

 

To meet the $800,000 cost of the excavation, Cundall enlisted the help of Steve Boultbee Brooks, a 51-year-old commercial property investor who runs the Boultbee Flight Academy in Chichester, West Sussex, which teaches people to fly in a two-seater Spitfire that Brooks bought for close to $3 million in 2009.

 

Ground radar images showed that inside the crates were Spitfires with their wings packed alongside the fuselages.

 

The Britons want to work to restore as many of the 20 Spitfires as possible and get them flying. There are only about 35 flying in the world.

 

"Spitfires are beautiful airplanes and should not be rotting away in a foreign land," Cundall said.

 

The final obstacle to recovering the Spitfires, however, is political: international sanctions forbid the movement of military materials in and out of Myanmar, and it was also feared the Myanmar government would not allow any foreign excavations.

 

However, because of the new, reforming stance of the Myanmar government, the sanctions on movement of military material will be lifted on April 23.

 

With the help of Cameron and his visit to Myanmar, a deal is being negotiated and hopes are high that it will conclude with Thein Sein, the president of Myanmar, granting permission for the dig.

 

"Our hope is that we can be digging them out in the next three or four weeks," said Brooks, who returned to his home Saturday after helping open negotiations.

 

"They have been in the ground for more than 65 years, so it is not a case of taking them out of the crates, putting them together and flying them. There is a lot of work to do. We may have to use parts of many planes to make perhaps a couple airworthy.

 

"But if the crates didn't get waterlogged, the Spitfires might be in pretty amazing condition. It's also encouraging that they put teak beams over the crates so they wouldn't be crushed by the earth when they were buried."

 

Cundall raised the tantalizing prospect that there may be more buried Spitfires.

 

"It's possible there are other Spitfires buried around different sites in Myanmar. I have heard about 36 in one burial; 18 in another; six in another. And when they were buried, they would have been brand new, never taken out of the box."

 

Fantastic stuff.

 

A pity there arent any Mosquitos that have been dealt with the same way, but then again the Mossies probably wouldnt have survived because of their wooden construction.

[pfc123]

Fantastic stuff.

 

A pity there arent any Mosquitos that have been dealt with the same way, but then again the Mossies probably wouldnt have survived because of their wooden construction.

 

Ah yes, stunning piece of kit. And without the Mossie we'd never have had Araldite. It was invented to glue the thing together....

[Suomi Saint]

This could be the find of the century. It is amazing how low Cameron will go to get some kudos, though. Thatcher regained the Falklands....Cameron regained a few Spitfires. Not quite the same. But, hey ho, it is very exciting for all plane enthusiasts and anyone proud of their British heritage. It's a pity the engines are not Merlins - that sound is fantastic!

[hamster]

Anyone been to the Battle of Britain thing over the white cliffs just past Folkestone on the old road to Dover, Capel Le Ferne.

 

Here's a link to their events page:

http://www.battleofbritainmemorial.org/events/live-spitfire-appearances-at-capel-le-fern/

 

Apart from the obvious there are aweinspiring views over the Channel and the English coatline.

 

A spitfire and a Hurricane plus a statue of 'the waiting pilot' and a wall of rememberance. It is very well kept and they are raising funds for a permanent exhibition building.

 

They organise tours of all sorts of associated places including helicopter rides where you get to fly alongside a Spitfire and hover over the memorial site. Anyone fancy treating as a late birthday treat please PM me?

[pfc123]

This could be the find of the century. It is amazing how low Cameron will go to get some kudos, though. Thatcher regained the Falklands....Cameron regained a few Spitfires. Not quite the same. But, hey ho, it is very exciting for all plane enthusiasts and anyone proud of their British heritage. It's a pity the engines are not Merlins - that sound is fantastic!

 

 

Must admit I'd give my eye teeth to be there when they lift them out of the ground and open the crates up

 

And yes the Merlin has the sweeter sounding engine, but the Griffon has much more Supercharger 'whine' and grunt. Go compare:

 

 

Merlin:

 

Griffon:

 

Both pretty awesome...

Edited 17 April, 2012 by pfc123

[Whitey Grandad]

My dad was a LAC instrument technician in Coastal command working on Beaufighters and Mosquitos. During the war when my big sister was ill they flew him down from Scotland in the navigator's seat so the pilot had to do all the course plotting himself. My dad said that he kept lowering the undercarriage and dropping under the clouds to see where he was. Why would he have done that? He also told me that all the pilots said that they'd rather be in a Beaufighter going in to the attack and a Mosquito on the way out.

[suewhistle]

My grandparents lived in Eastleigh right under the end of the runway and I remember as a child seeing a two-seater trainer taking off over their house. Dad took me to airshows and later when I lived in the UK on the South Coast I'd hear Merlins flying over and rushing out to see: such a distinctive sound. Funnily enough at the World Cup in Italy in 1990 I met the step-daughter of Geoffrey Quill, and you'll all know who he was!..

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Update:

 

http://www.defencemanagement.com/news_story.asp?id=19594

 

I hope some enterprising documentary TV producer has attached themselves to this project because whether they find Spitfires or not, the story will probably prove to be highly dramatic anyway.

[pfc123]

Update:

 

http://www.defencemanagement.com/news_story.asp?id=19594

 

I hope some enterprising documentary TV producer has attached themselves to this project because whether they find Spitfires or not, the story will probably prove to be highly dramatic anyway.

 

It's got 'Time Team two hour special' written all over it. Just hope it doesn't descend into an unseemly bunfight between rival recovery groups

[pfc123]

Just hope it doesn't descend into an unseemly bunfight between rival recovery groups

 

Oops. Too late...

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/9228910/Its-Spitfires-at-dawn-in-Burma.html

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

It's got 'Time Team two hour special' written all over it .....

 

Well it has a guaranteed audience of two already then.

 

I read a story a while ago that at the end of WWII our Fleet Air Arm legally had to dispose of numerous US manufactured 'Lend Lease' aircraft it was operating at the time. The simplest solution to the problem was just to push them over the side of our carriers at sea. All those magnificent Corsairs, Avengers and Hellcats consigned to the deep ...... what a horrendous waste.

[Ohio Saint]

" My dream is to have a flying squadron at air shows.”

 

If I got to see that, I swear, I'd lose control of all my bodily functions.

[pfc123]

Not sure we'll be seeing that anytime soon from Burmese Spits. 67 years of monsoon climate won't have done the airframes any good unless the crates have remained watertight. Can't see that sadly, but some of the engine blocks might have survived...

[pfc123]

I've heard the stories of planes being thrown off the back of carriers. I suppose at the time no-one realised that 70 years later we'd still being dining out on the story of ww2. No-one thought that old spitfires and sea furies and the like would be of any interest for future generations.

 

It reminds me of the story of Peter Cook trying to buy the tapes of 'Not only buy also' from the beeb during the 70's once he knew they were going wipe them. He could see that there would be a massive market in nostalgia in years to come, but the beeb didn't want to know and wiped the bloody lot.

 

Criminal, absolutely criminal....

[Whitey Grandad]

I've heard the stories of planes being thrown off the back of carriers. I suppose at the time no-one realised that 70 years later we'd still being dining out on the story of ww2. No-one thought that old spitfires and sea furies and the like would be of any interest for future generations.

 

It reminds me of the story of Peter Cook trying to buy the tapes of 'Not only buy also' from the beeb during the 70's once he knew they were going wipe them. He could see that there would be a massive market in nostalgia in years to come, but the beeb didn't want to know and wiped the bloody lot.

 

Criminal, absolutely criminal....

 

I'm afraid the tapes were considered more valuable than the content.

[Victor]

I have a vivid memory that combines a Spitfire and Saints: watching E&D Minor League cup finals at Stoneham in '78. Tony Funnell presented the cups and Chris Nicholl was there just watching. During the matches a Spitfire was flying round & round, no idea why - presumably these guys have to practise their displays somewhere and we were just lucky.

 

Incidentally, couldn't resist the opportunity to rib Chris about his scoring all 4 goals in a 2-2 draw when playing for Villa.

[dubai_phil]

Bump

 

An interesting story seems there was a falling out

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/9228910/Its-Spitfires-at-dawn-in-Burma.html

 

The Brits had a real chance here to get ahead,” he laments. “The Americans are really keen. The Israelis are really keen. There is talk of an Australian team that is very keen. 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. We’re absolutely nuts, aren’t we?”

 

And a related story

 

A Polish Oil Worker has found a crash landed RAF P-40 Kittyhawk in the desert in Egypt seems to be in amazing condition

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/9257499/WWII-plane-found-frozen-in-time-deep-in-the-Sahara.html

[alpine_saint]

The Yanks, Israelis and Aussies should f**k off - they're our aircraft.

 

I hate the way that inept British management f**ks everything up and lets foreigners capitalise on our bright ideas or our hard work.

[Saint in Paradise]

Bump

 

 

And a related story

 

A Polish Oil Worker has found a crash landed RAF P-40 Kittyhawk in the desert in Egypt seems to be in amazing condition

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/9257499/WWII-plane-found-frozen-in-time-deep-in-the-Sahara.html

 

These newspapers are weeks behind, I first read about this story on 22nd April on here :-

 

http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/483378-desert-gives-up-one-rafs-finest.html

 

They have links to another website :-

 

http://www.konradus.com/forum/read.php?f=13&i=7154&t=7154&filtr=0&page=1

 

That website is dated 17th April.

[dubai_phil]

The Yanks, Israelis and Aussies should f**k off - they're our aircraft.

 

I hate the way that inept British management f**ks everything up and lets foreigners capitalise on our bright ideas or our hard work.

 

But let's face it, hasn't that always been the case in almost every sector of life in the UK? From Border Agency to Banks to the giants of old time British Manufacturing.

 

Ho hum. In this particular case that would be a very very sad outcome

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Of related interest:

 

http://www.itv.com/news/2012-05-11/lost-and-forgotten-wwii-fighter-found-in-egyptian-desert/

 

Just how remote the Western Desert must be so that someting like this could go undiscovered for nearly 70 years, and what a terrible fate for its pilot.

[alpine_saint]

But let's face it, hasn't that always been the case in almost every sector of life in the UK? From Border Agency to Banks to the giants of old time British Manufacturing.

 

Ho hum. In this particular case that would be a very very sad outcome

 

If we cannot get our sh*t together to recover these aircraft, what with everything else the UK screws up, I seriously would be wondering what is the point of our country any more.......

[Saint in Paradise]

Alpine, the UK is almost at or has indeed arrived at the point where it has been decided that it will be a major

home for any people who don't want to reside in their own country. That is now the point of the UK.

[Saint in Paradise]

Chapple End Charlie please try and keep up and see the post 2 above yours

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Chapple End Charlie please try and keep up and see the post 2 above yours

 

Oops !

 

I seem to recall I saw a movie many years ago about a WWII US Bomber that crashed in somewhat similar circumstances - not 'Flight of the Phoenix' BTW. Can any kind SWF member remember what this film was called ?

[Saint in Paradise]

 

oubt the authenticity of the R.J Mitchell "Spitfire bird" quotes though. He hated the name and, when told of the

naming decision, is quoted as saying "just the sort of bloody silly name they would choose."

 

http://archive.org/details/TheFirstOfTheFew

 

 

The above was not my grandmother.

[Whitey Grandad]

Oops !

 

I seem to recall I saw a movie many years ago about a WWII US Bomber that crashed in somewhat similar circumstances - not 'Flight of the Phoenix' BTW. Can any kind SWF member remember what this film was called ?

I can't remember the title but wasn't it something about a night flight and they thought the sand dunes were waves and that they were parcahuting over the sea. It could be this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Be_Good_(aircraft)

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

I can't remember the title but wasn't it something about a night flight and they thought the sand dunes were waves and that they were parcahuting over the sea. It could be this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Be_Good_(aircraft)

 

You Sir are a gentlemen and a scholar because your 'Lady Be Good' link has led me to the title of this half forgotten film - Soul Survivors !

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sole_Survivor_(1970_film)

 

Considering it starred two of my favorite actors (Bill Shatner & Richard Basehart) I really should have remembered it without prompting. Ta very muchly.

[Whitey Grandad]

You Sir are a gentlemen and a scholar because your 'Lady Be Good' link has led me to the title of this half forgotten film - Soul Survivors !

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sole_Survivor_(1970_film)

 

Considering it starred two of my favorite actors (Bill Shatner & Richard Basehart) I really should have remembered it without prompting. Ta very muchly.

You're very welcome. It's back in my dim distant past but it's all coming back to me now.

[Spudders]

Good to see that work is about to start digging these up within a month or so, with there being more to dig up than originally estimated.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/9615146/British-plane-enthusiast-wins-right-to-dig-up-buried-Spitfires-in-Burma.html

 

British plane enthusiast wins right to dig up buried Spitfires in Burma

Burma's government has signed an agreement with Lincolnshire farmer and aviation enthusiast David Cundall to allow the excavation of dozens of rare Spitfire fighters which were buried in the country at the end of the Second World War.

 

The historic find could total 60 of Britain's most iconic fighter plane, the largest number of Spitfires left anywhere in the world.

 

The deal comes after the personal intervention of David Cameron, who discussed bringing the planes home to the UK when he met Burma's President Thein Sein in April.

 

Revered as the plane that won the Battle of Britain in 1940, there are only 35 Spitfires still flying around the world.

 

With a price tag of £1.5 million or more each, Mr Cundall struck the aviation equivalent of a gold mine when he located the planes in February this year, almost 70 years after they were carefully greased and wrapped to preserve them, before being buried in crates.

 

"We estimate that there are at least 60 Spitfires buried and they are in good condition," said Mr Htoo Htoo Zaw, Mr Cundall's Burmese business partner.

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

 

Work on digging up the planes will start at the end of October.

 

The find is even more valuable because the Spitfires are rare Mark XIV fighters, equipped not with the famous Rolls-Royce Merlin engine but with the more powerful Griffon type.

 

Although more than 20,000 Spitfires were built in Britain during the Second World War, only 2,042 later models were powered with Griffon engines and just a handful are still flying today.

 

Mr Cundall, 62, spent 16 years and over £130,000 of his own money scouring former RAF airfields in Burma for the planes, after receiving a tip-off that they were buried at the end of a runway in August 1945. It is thought that the aircraft were abandoned in Burma before they ever took to the air because they were no longer needed with so many Spitfires then flying and the war ending.

 

According to the Burmese press, Mr Cundall and Mr Zaw signed the deal to excavate the planes on Tuesday in Rangoon with Burma's director-general of Civil Aviation Tin Naing Tun.

 

Burma's transport minister Nyan Tun Aung was cited as hailing the agreement as a milestone in Anglo-Burmese relations, and as recognition by the British government of Burma's recent pro-democracy reforms.

 

Mr Cameron made retrieving the planes a priority when he travelled to Rangoon in April to meet Mr Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi. But the deal was delayed after a tussle between Mr Cundall and British businessman Steve Boultbee Brooks over who had the right to extract the planes. Most of the Spitfires are expected to be returned to the UK, with some remaining in Burma on display.

[Spudders]

Looks like the buried spitfires were just a myth! Shame

 

http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/3953-myanmar-s-phantom-spitfires-how-a-legend-was-born.html