Buried Spitfires Update

[rwanttaja]

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

Put some sand-and-spinach camo on them, paint a few roundels, and you could well be looking at the Burmese Spitfires.

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.

Yes, but: We are talking about the end of a world war. We are talking about men who have been 10,000 miles from home for several years.

Then, suddenly, the war is over. They're looking at a field with 100 pristine warbirds.

What to do with them? The Government has another 1,000 of them sitting around airfields and factories back home. No reason to ship them home; besides the vessels involved could be better involved in carrying hundreds of thousands of soldiers home for demobilization.

So, the supply folks in Burma (or the Philippines, or North Africa) are instructed to "dispose" of the aircraft. But how? Are they supposed to put them up for sale, scrap them for the metal value, what? It's almost impossible to get clarification of the orders...they can't pick up a cell phone to call the War Office, and what long-range radio links exist aren't going to be wasted on mere supply matters. It'll take months to query London and get the response.

So, the supply officers tell themselves, "This is the last task we have to do before getting on the ships back to England. None of us can leave until we complete the disposal. What should we do?"

They do what stumped officers have done for 2,000 years: They ask a sergeant.

And the sergeant introduces them to a fine old military term: "Expended in place." It means that the property has completed its intended function, is damaged beyond economical repair, and is just left where it's at. For aircraft, it's typically implemented by dropping a grenade into the cockpit. Those rich Yanks might bulldoze them into a neat pile, but it isn't really necessary. All you have to do is drop the grenade, stamp "Expended in Place" in the paperwork, and it's over. " Get on the ship, lads, we're headed for Blighty."

When (and if) the paperwork ever gets back to England, the receiving officer grunts and throws it away. The planes are accounted for and no longer exist. It's just BUMF at this point....

I don't doubt that there could be hundreds of Spitfires under the soil of Burma. What I doubt is whether there are enough intact parts remaining to put together even one complete aircraft. Heck, how much of the exterior skin of "Glacier Girl" is authentic WWII aluminum?

I'm convinced there's too much wishfull thinking and day dreaming involved.

Yep....

Ron Wanttaja