Buried Spitfires Update

[KevinR]

Just joined.
I've been following this story for a long time. The story out of Burma this week is not that there are no Spitfires it's that they haven't found any where they are digging at the moment. That does not mean there are none. There are several sites all over the country that are yet to be explored and they are not finished with the site they are at. We can armchair quarterback all day long the truth is we just don't know. We are not there and have not seen the data being use for the hunt. The deep radar scans of one of the sites does show objects the right size and shape. We won't know until the holes are dug. This is just the start of the search and there is a lot more work to be done.
As to the state of the aircraft that is anybody's guess but they were shipped preserved for the voyage. According to one of the eye whiteness they sealed the crates with felt paper and tar then set them on logs before filling the holes. Did that happen? Maybe but we just don't know. I reserve judgement until the last whole is dug.

[Buzz]

An article on BBC News today reports

It would be helpful if there would be a link to the news story.

[Buzz]

It would be helpful if there would be a link to the news story.

http://www.npr.org/2013/01/21/169621...wwii-spitfires

Here's a report from NPR that is 16 hour old. It concludes with this statement:

British media reported Friday that the team has failed to find any planes and is giving up. The team says those reports are wrong, and the hunt continues.

[Can't adjust the font from the cut and paste.]

[KevinR]

Thank you Buzz

[Bill]

Here's the link to the BBC report. Its the most recent from BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21074699 Did anyone doubt that Dave Cundall is a true believer and will never give up no matter what.

[Thomas Stute]

For me the whole story is unbelievable. All who have served in the military, no matter for which country, know about the bureaucracy involved. They just do not loose anything without a trace in lists and files, especially in case of such a large number of first line fighters. So there should be a trace in the archives, if the story was true. I'm convinced there's too much wishfull thinking and day dreaming involved.

[Zack Baughman]

Just my opinion, but I think it's entirely plausible that Spitfires could have been buried at Mingaladon Airfield. I know it's not exactly the same thing, but quite a few P-38s were bulldozed at Clark Field in the Philippines at the end of the war. If you don't believe me, just check out the photo here: http://www.pacificwrecks.com/airfiel...p38-dozer.html

Zack

[Check 6]

There was quite a few B-25s buried on the SE side of Mt. Vesuvius that received damage when she erupted in 1944. http://www.warwingsart.com/12thAirForce/Vesuvius.html

[Floatsflyer]

Just my opinion, but I think it's entirely plausible that Spitfires could have been buried at Mingaladon Airfield. I know it's not exactly the same thing, but quite a few P-38s were bulldozed at Clark Field in the Philippines at the end of the war. If you don't believe me, just check out the photo here: http://www.pacificwrecks.com/airfiel...p38-dozer.html

Zack

That picture is heartbreaking.....such a shame. But who knew then that Warbirds would become the objects of intense desire and significant financial gain decades later. Like the guy I know personnally who became the first exclusive north american product distributor for a company named Sony(he began by selling transistor radios out of the trunk of his car in the 1950's). If I only knew then what I know today!

[Bill Greenwood]

One can have faith that it just requires digging in the right place to uncover these planes.

But we can also remember what Mark Twain said, that "Faith is believing in something when you know it ain't so."