General / Off-Topic Spitfires buried in Rangoon?
- Thread starter Geraldine
- Start date
For a while there, I though my little post was going to be buried there unseen 
Glad somebody else thinks this is could be a cool find. There could be as much as 60 of them out there in the jungle, each worth about the same as the Elite kickstarter earned about £1.5 million once they are all built up.
If they found that many and got them all flying again, that would bring the world total upto nearly 100 operational Spits! I doubt they will find that many though, not after all this time.
Oh, and I see this is your first post Lambchop, welcome to the forum!
Glad somebody else thinks this is could be a cool find. There could be as much as 60 of them out there in the jungle, each worth about the same as the Elite kickstarter earned about £1.5 million once they are all built up.
If they found that many and got them all flying again, that would bring the world total upto nearly 100 operational Spits!
I doubt they will find that many though, not after all this time.Oh, and I see this is your first post Lambchop, welcome to the forum!
I am sooo excited about this sort of stuff. First we have the Spitfires that are due to be dug up in Burma.
Next we have the old guys who have restored the 'Just Jane' Lancaster at East Kirkby and are working to get it flying within 12 months. They aren't far from the BBMF so seeing two in flight together is possible. There is another Lancaster in Canada so that makes three airworthy ones if I'm right.
I'm also aware of a Shackleton being restored and made airworthy.
Can you imagine two Lancasters and a Shackleton in formation, with a massive Spitfire escort flying with them?
Next we have the old guys who have restored the 'Just Jane' Lancaster at East Kirkby and are working to get it flying within 12 months. They aren't far from the BBMF so seeing two in flight together is possible. There is another Lancaster in Canada so that makes three airworthy ones if I'm right.
I'm also aware of a Shackleton being restored and made airworthy.
Can you imagine two Lancasters and a Shackleton in formation, with a massive Spitfire escort flying with them?
On the news tonight the Spitfire owned by Rolls-Royce has been damaged after an undercarriage leg collapsed after landing.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...undercarriage-spitfire-collapsed-landing.html
I think it's Griffon-engined Spitfire XIX PS853, owned by Rolls-Royce. This has only just returned to flight about a month ago. The pilot is OK and hopefully it can be repaired.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...undercarriage-spitfire-collapsed-landing.html
I think it's Griffon-engined Spitfire XIX PS853, owned by Rolls-Royce. This has only just returned to flight about a month ago. The pilot is OK and hopefully it can be repaired.
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I've been following this with interest as well. Amazing find. It does make you wonder how much stuff was 'secured' in far flung theaters when the war finished.
Seen this in the paper a few weeks ago, in the article it said there was no hard evidence that there were any planes buried there.
Also said if they did find anything and if they were in good condition they would be worth a mint.
Also said if they did find anything and if they were in good condition they would be worth a mint.
Thats a beauty Merlin, I hope the pilot is ok and they get the Spit fixed up, they were (like the Hurricanes) tough machines. I read someplace that during the hight of the Battle Of Britain, "average" flight engineers could have a plane flight worthy in a matter of hours if the crash wasn't too bad. Those guys who kept them in the air and fighting were anything but average, amazing would be a better word!
Thats a beauty Merlin, I hope the pilot is ok and they get the Spit fixed up, they were (like the Hurricanes) tough machines. I read someplace that during the hight of the Battle Of Britain, "average" flight engineers could have a plane flight worthy in a matter of hours if the crash wasn't too bad. Those guys who kept them in the air and fighting were anything but average, amazing would be a better word!
Apparently, my Grandad was in the RAF during the war. I am trying to research into him at the moment, as my Dad was the result of a fling between my Gran, who was a 'clippie' on the buses in Manchester and an Airman called John Keeble, who was in No. 37 Maintenance Unit, stationed at Burtonwood in 1940/41.
37 MU repaired Spitfires from the BoB before they moved on to assembling US aircraft that were originally destined for France but got diverted to Britain after the fall of Dunkirk.
Burtonwood airfield was handed over to the US Army Air Force in July 1942 and my Dad was born in September 1941, but my Dad never knew his Dad, as my Gran only mentioned him shortly before she died. It's sad, but that's my Gran's generation and what they thought about babies born out of wedlock.
It would be cool to find out if my Grandad repaired Spitfires, or even better, flew in them! It's doubtful though, as most wartime RAF pilots were officers (at least Flight Sergeant) and John Keeble's rank was stated as Airman on some papers my Gran kept, so he may have been only ground crew.
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Can't wait to see when they find them and start recovering them, it's going to be fascinating
And Merlin, Your Grandad was in the RAF, something to be very, very proud of Airman usually denotes ground crew. So, even if he didn't fly a Spitfire he clould have helped keep them in the air when we needed them most
And Merlin, Your Grandad was in the RAF, something to be very, very proud of
Airman usually denotes ground crew. So, even if he didn't fly a Spitfire he clould have helped keep them in the air when we needed them most Just saw this news report that a bunch of new, un-assemled and crated Spitfires might be about to be discovered in Rangoon. Love those planes
I know David Cundall - who was involved in this project over many years. I have never met anyone who works as hard as him in my entire life. Incredibly interesting fellow.
An update on this. Sadly, the search has been called off and the claims of caches of buried Spitfires labelled a myth . The mysterious crate that was discovered still remains unidentified. Perhaps they are still out there somewhere? :S
. The mysterious crate that was discovered still remains unidentified. Perhaps they are still out there somewhere? :S