20 Spitfire Mk IIs found in Burma

[Sav'nBass]

20 Spitfire Mk IIs found in Burma in crates and in near pristine condition.

This is an incredible find!!! Imagine 20 machines from 1945 ... which there are only around 35 left in operation today.. and they find 20 of them packed in crates and buried for over 60 years... WOW!!

 

[jonathan_matos5]

link broken

 

[Sav'nBass]

Fixed!!

 

[Jim Nazium]

Wow ... that's really cool if they're actually in mint condition, ore restorable.

 

[JohnMCA72]

The value of the other 35 just took a hit...

 

[Sav'nBass]

The value of the other 35 just took a hit...

Yeah for sure... these planes are brand new.. and they are packed in crates... with wax paper on them and the whole bit.. because they were buried they may even be flight worthy out of the box... You are talking about 20 brand new Spitfires.. at the most they may need engine seals or hydraulic seals .. maybe..

 

[bassteban]

Mk II's would be earlier than '45, more like 40-41. Wild.

 

[knumbskull]

cool find. pretty troubled country to find them in, though! anyone know how they got there? were they some Junta official's retirement plan?

 

[aim9guy]

Very cool!
Mk II's are esp. rare. The later spits are flying now. I just finished a 1:32 kit of the mk IX, for a gentleman in France. Great looking airplanes!

aim9guy

 

[nutdog]

Facinating!

 

[Solarmist]

Awesome for sure.

 

[champbassist]

anyone know how they got there?

Historians say the Spitfires were shipped out to Burma in the summer of 1945, two weeks before atomic bombs were dropped on Japan which brought the war to a sudden end.

...

But the Mark II Spitfires in the secret haul never saw action. Earl Mountbatten issued an order for them to be hidden in 1945 to prevent foreign forces from getting their hands on them as the British army demobilised. The aircraft, straight from the production line, were buried in crates at a depth of 4ft to 6ft to preserve them.

Their whereabouts became lost after the RAF struck off their locations from their records.

From: The new Battle of Burma: Find 20 buried Spitfires and make them fly | Mail Online

 

[knumbskull]

cool!

 

[stratovani]

An amazing discovery. Makes me wonder just what else from WW2 may be out there waiting to be discovered.

 

[kesslari]

That is astoundingly cool.

 

[A-Step-Towards]

Damn "21,000 were originally produced" thats a very small percent of whats left. I understand a lot were lost and so forth due to the war and nededing metal afterwards.


Anyways cool story , i wanna see photos of them being pulled out of crates.

 

[tplyons]

I hope they turn this into a documentary. The thought of unearthing 20 historical airplanes and hopefully building them is a monumental task that I'm sure aviation enthusiasts all over the world would love to follow.

 

[Sav'nBass]

Mk II's would be earlier than '45, more like 40-41. Wild.

Yes .... but as stated they were buried in 45. I believe it was MkIs & MkIis and Hurricains at The Battle of Britain. The Hurricanes actually bore the brunt as far as fighters go.

 

[NOLA Bass]

I hope they turn this into a documentary. The thought of unearthing 20 historical airplanes and hopefully building them is a monumental task that I'm sure aviation enthusiasts all over the world would love to follow.

That would be a great documentary indeed!

 

[bassteban]

Yes .... but as stated they were buried in 45. I believe it was MkIs & MkIis and Hurricains at The Battle of Britain. The Hurricanes actually bore the brunt as far as fighters go.

Entirely correct on the B of B bit. On *45* vs *40-41* I was just feelin all Smarty McSmartSmart for knowing that Mk IIs would not be in frontline British service in 45.