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.