Raiders of the lost Spits, Episode two

[Coyote Chris]

Spitfires' Excavation Date Set

http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/2403-full.html#207904

The long-anticipated dig to unearth a cache of brand-new Spitfires that are believed to be buried in Burma is expected to start on Jan. 12, local press has reported. According to The Irrawaddy, archeologists first will spend about a week studying the site, then the digging can begin. Up to 36 pristine Spitfires, still in the packing crates they were delivered in near the end of World War II, are expected to be found. David Cundall, who located the burial site, said he has confirmed the airplanes are there by sending a camera through a borehole. "We went into a crate, you can see an object which resembles a Spitfire," he said.

http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/2403-full.html#207904

The British troops buried the airplanes when they left Burma in 1945, Cundall said, because they didn't want to take them home but also didn't want anyone else to use them. The crates were tarred and placed on massive teak timbers to assist drainage, and a wooden roof was placed over the crates to protect them, Cundall said. The crates are buried about 30 feet deep in an area close to a runway at Mingaladon Airport in Rangoon. Cundall also has permission to excavate two other sites in Burma. At one of those sites, Cundall said he expects to find up to six crated Mark 8 Spitfires, a rare variation with only one copy still flying.

[N22252]

Re: Raiders of the lost Spits, Episode two

January 12.... That leaves (8) whole months to get them ready

[Coyote Chris]

Re: Raiders of the lost Spits, Episode two

January 12.... That leaves (8) whole months to get them ready

Hmmmm....if a Boeing 777 can bring 340 Aussies and Kiwis to Oshkosh this coming year, why cant it bring 340 Brits to Reno for the new Spitfire class? Those Brits can eat alot of home wrecker hotdogs and really help RARA's bottom line....

[bill_f]

Re: Raiders of the lost Spits, Episode two

http://news.yahoo.com/excavators-head-myanmar-wwii-spitfires-152507234.html

[RAD2LTR]

Re: Raiders of the lost Spits, Episode two

It will be interesting to see what they find.

Will

[V1670]

Re: Raiders of the lost Spits, Episode two

Been following this. It would be interesting to know the story behind this. The crates were buried to keep the planes from falling into "enemy" hands. Which "enemy"? It sounds like it was towards the end of the conflict, so was there worry of them falling into Japanese hands? or was it worry about early communist expansion? Also, since it was late in the war, specualtion about types: ie earlier,surplus models or later (Griffon) models. This makes the "Indiana Jones" flicks pale by comparison.

[Reno_Steve]

Re: Raiders of the lost Spits, Episode two

Latest News

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — An excavation team searching for a stash of legendary World War II-era British fighter aircraft in northern Myanmar said a wooden crate believed to contain one of the planes has been found, full of muddy water.

How much water damage occurred was not yet clear, and searchers could not definitively say what was inside the crate. But British aviation enthusiast David J. Cundall, who is driving the hunt for the rare Spitfire planes, called the results "very encouraging."

"It will take some time to pump the water out ... but I do expect all aircraft to be in very good condition," Cundall told reporters Wednesday in Myanmar's main city, Yangon.

The Spitfire helped Britain beat back waves of German bombers during the war that ended in 1945, and it remains the most famous British combat aircraft. About 20,000 Spitfires were built, although the dawn of the jet age quickly made the propeller-driven, single-seat planes obsolete.

As many as 140 Spitfires — three to four times the number of airworthy models known to exist — are believed to have been buried in near-pristine condition in Myanmar by American engineers as the war drew to a close.

The wooden crate was found in Myitkyina in Kachin state during a dig that began last month. Several digs are planned nationwide, including another near the airport in Yangon.

Cundall said the search team in Kachin inserted a camera in the crate and found water. What else was inside the crate was unclear and pumping out the water could take weeks, he said.

The go-ahead for excavation came in October when Myanmar's government signed an agreement with Cundall and his local partner.

Under the deal, Myanmar's government will get one plane for display at a museum, as well as half of the remaining total. DJC, a private company headed by Cundall, will get 30 percent of the total and the Myanmar partner company Shwe Taung Paw, headed by Htoo Htoo Zaw, will get 20 percent.

During the project's first phase, searchers hope to recover 60 planes: 36 planes in Mingaladon, near Yangon's international airport; six in Meikthila in central Myanmar; and 18 in Myitkyina. Others are to be recovered in a second phase.

Searchers hope the aircraft are in pristine condition, but others have said it's possible all they might find is a mass of corroded metal and rusty aircraft parts.

Cundall said the practice of burying aircraft, tanks and jeeps was common after the war.

"Basically nobody had got any orders to take these airplanes back to (the) UK. They were just surplus ... (and) one way of disposing them was to bury them," Cundall said. "The war was over, everybody wanted to go home, nobody wanted anything, so you just buried it and went home. That was it."

Stanley Coombe, a 91-year-old war veteran from Britain who says he witnessed the aircraft's burial, traveled to Myanmar to observe the search.

It is "very exciting for me because I never thought I would be allowed to come back and see where Spitfires have been buried," Coombe said. "It's been a long time since anybody believed what I said until David Cundall came along."

[Desertdawg]

Re: Raiders of the lost Spits, Episode two

Guys,

Thanks for keeping us current on the progress of this search.

Pretty cool stuff, love to be part of the search team.

[RAD2LTR]

Re: Raiders of the lost Spits, Episode two

One thing strikes me as being odd, if they are going to open the crates, why not dig the ends out and open them to drain the water out. My guess is that if they are full of water, they will find some rusty Spitfires rather than well preserved ones. I don't want to be pessimistic here, but it doesn't sound that promising. True, they might have a good place to start a restoration depending on how rusted they turn out to be. I'll guess the motors are better used as anchors since they are likely totally rusted due to water intrusion through the exhaust and intake.

Also, why is it going to take "some time" to pump the crate empty. A trash pump will have that empty in an hour or less. It kinda sounds like there is some info missing here.

Will

[Arctic Cat]

Re: Raiders of the lost Spits, Episode two

Anyone see that episode of American Hot Rod with Boyd Coddington when they opened up the time capsule with the car in it. They were all excited that they would have this new car and maybe get it running and when they took the lid off it was a rusted out pile of junk?
I wish them well, but buried underground and water don't sound to good.

[Coyote Chris]

Re: Raiders of the lost Spits, Episode two

One thing strikes me as being odd, if they are going to open the crates, why not dig the ends out and open them to drain the water out. My guess is that if they are full of water, they will find some rusty Spitfires rather than well preserved ones. I don't want to be pessimistic here, but it doesn't sound that promising. True, they might have a good place to start a restoration depending on how rusted they turn out to be. I'll guess the motors are better used as anchors since they are likely totally rusted due to water intrusion through the exhaust and intake.

Also, why is it going to take "some time" to pump the crate empty. A trash pump will have that empty in an hour or less. It kinda sounds like there is some info missing here.

Will

I'm with you....where are the reporter's pics of what is really going on?
Are they being kept away? Are the crates normally under water this time of the year there? Sure, aircraft have come out of lake Michigan in something resembling an aircraft....but if these aircraft have been subjected to water damage for all these years, about all you could do would be to save the data plates, scan the parts, and open up a Spit factory like the ME262 factory in Everett WA. The engines are kind of a wild card.....lets hope all the bruial sites are not flooded....

[51fixer]

Re: Raiders of the lost Spits, Episode two

The water in the crate is probably also the ground water level in the dirt.
A small volume pump will do little as the inrushing water will replace what is pumped out unless a very high volume pump is used pretty much continuously similar to a sump pump in my*basement.
Based on corrosion levels of the Spits out in the open being buried in moist conditions isn't a good sign. I believe there are multiple sites so hopefully something recognizable will be unearthed.

[supercub]

Re: Raiders of the lost Spits, Episode two

Anyone see that episode of American Hot Rod with Boyd Coddington when they opened up the time capsule with the car in it. They were all excited that they would have this new car and maybe get it running and when they took the lid off it was a rusted out pile of junk?
I wish them well, but buried underground and water don't sound to good.

I saw that the other evening (rerun). That was in what looked like a concrete box and water leaked in from the lid, I assume. The tomb was partially full of water. Maybe the boxes the spits are in, water would run out thru cracks etc. Maybe wishful thinking on my part, but hopefully they'll be in better shape then that car.
Brian

[RAD2LTR]

Re: Raiders of the lost Spits, Episode two

The water in the crate is probably also the ground water level in the dirt.
A small volume pump will do little as the inrushing water will replace what is pumped out unless a very high volume pump is used pretty much continuously similar to a sump pump in my*basement.
Based on corrosion levels of the Spits out in the open being buried in moist conditions isn't a good sign. I believe there are multiple sites so hopefully something recognizable will be unearthed.

I here you there, but if they go through the top, and run a trash pump ( the one I have at work moves about 100 gpm) I'd guess the could get the level in the crate down enough that they could see whats inside, yes water will still seep in as they pumped but I'd guess they could pump it faster than it would fill. Still, they did dig down to bury the crates in the first place so I'd guess that the ground is above the water table and the water that is in there might just be water that has collected through draining through the ground and entering the crates over time. With no place to really run off to, its just been stuck there. Honestly though, I don't know for sure. Again, the water table might be at the height of the crates and will indeed cause issues, but they will need to address that issue if they want to remove the contents of the crate anyway.

I really do hope they find something that can be made airworthy again. Even if its just one that flies again, that would be a victory in my book.

Will

[Randy Haskin]

Re: Raiders of the lost Spits, Episode two

Anyone see that episode of American Hot Rod with Boyd Coddington when they opened up the time capsule with the car in it. They were all excited that they would have this new car and maybe get it running and when they took the lid off it was a rusted out pile of junk?
I wish them well, but buried underground and water don't sound to good.

http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=15510&posts=62&start=1