discussion 20 Spitfires found underground!!

[rickoshea52]

Fit them with arrestor gear and hey presto! A squadron of carrier launched fighters to defend the Falklands with.

 

[BarryW]

Mk VIII's were used in Asia so it could be those maybe. Whatever mark they are what a find!!!!

 

[Guest]

http://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,24944.24.html Might want to look at this...

 

[AlanG]

ooo now that would be great if they were hurricanes

 

[AlanG]

Bit more of an update on these aircraft. seems like they might be XIV Spitfires

Squadron of 'lost' spitfires could be flying again in three years - Telegraph

 

[Guest]

Mk VIII's were used in Asia so it could be those maybe. Whatever mark they are what a find!!!!

According to the news & chap who has been looking for them they are Spitfire type 14 (X1V would that be, I think, for the Romans among us).

It was said they would be in perfect condition. Hope they are right on that one. Digging starts I think they said March next year.

Like to be there very exciting.

Farmer who has been looking for them got his compass points mixed up (must have been a sailor at some time or perhaps grandson of Admiral Tovey who chose the reciprocal when looking for the Bismark) . He was looking at the wrong end of the airfield the farmer that is.

Sorted out & they have got a University to take radar pictures & are certain they have the spot & spits.

What about 30 Spitfires in formation over London ?

Laurie

 

[stona]

"Flying again in three years",I'll believe it when I see it.

This might seem cynical but these stories appear from time to time. They seem to be on a roughly ten year cycle The most frequent one is the Spitfires/Merlins crated up down an Australian mine.

I hope he does recover something worthwhile but only time will tell. When you see what some restorations start from just about anything is possible.

Steve

 

[Guest]

hey steve it was on the 1.30pm news that the crates are full and hopefully shipped back to blighty soon

mobear

 

[mossiepilot]

I'd like to see these Spits, but flying again in three years, after being buried, even if crated and wrapped in tar paper, in possibly wet earth for, what, seventy years. Unless they have had the sort of preservation that you see in aircraft graveyards in America and a dry atmosphere, the airframes will be Aluminium oxide and any engines will be rusted solid. But, who knows, ??????????

I'll await further developments.

Tony.

 

[Guest]

Any of them even just one will depend on one thing. Money.

At the moment a wealthy character from an Eastern European is putting the cash in to get them exhumed. But as all things it always takes more lolly than ever estimated. Will this chap stick around ?

But naughty this is all pessimism lets look on the bright side. Even finding the things & seeing the drama of uncovering is going to be fascinating. Hope they have a decent film unit covering this to make a documentary so that we can all enjoy the experience.

Laurie

 

[stona]

hey steve it was on the 1.30pm news that the crates are full and hopefully shipped back to blighty soonmobear

I honestly hope so. The report I saw had a member of the Leeds University team who made the scans being careful to point out that their equipment showed metal,any metal. That may mean Spitfires but maybe not.

A lot of junk maybe bulldozed off a WW2 runway.Let's wait to see what actually emerges.

I may seem sceptical but I've been around a while and have heard these sorts of stories before.

I would ask where is the paperwork for these aircraft? The British government and RAF didn't ship aircraft around the world without a paper trail. It could have been lost,unlikely. It could have been misplaced or misfiled,possibly. As a visitor to our various archives I know this might happen. It might,like the Spitfires,never have existed.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Guest]

well steve lets keep fingers crossed and toes,(eyes as well though it impedes model building)lol

mobear

 

[Guest]

Also add on to this 3 years for them to be flying again.

30 engines that is 10 a year to be dismantled refurbished if in reasonable condition tested & fitted. One per month.

I visited the main Merlin refurbisher which was based in Jersey some years go & at that time they would not have the engineers to perform that amount of work. They actually moved out of Jersey back to the UK as they did not have enough work to sustain their operation. I would be surprised if there was more than one gang who could take on this work in the UK. Also wonder if the spares are around.

I would give a laymans guess of 15 years to get that lot all flying. Even that is 3 per year.

Laurie

 

[Ian M]

Well I'm hoping its not a red herring, a report I read the other week suggested that there may even be a few Mosquitoes as well. I don't hold to much for the wood being up to much, but a few motors and bits could be a worthy find.

Ian M

 

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

The guy was on BBC this morning and although they had a pic of a Spitfire up he never actually said it was Spitfires, all he said was they drilled down into a crate and saw what looked like aircraft parts, I hope they are Spits after all the hype.

Adrian

 

[Guest]

With the Mosquitos for the fuselage etc not much hope. The construction of the covering consisted of a sandwich of Ply with a balsa wood core.

Just a nice feast for termites etc.

Laurie

 

[Guest]

I know were there is a buried Junkers JU88

In 1979 I made a model JU88 and buried it under our garden path and the path was concreted over!

To this very day its still there hno:

 

[Guest]

I know were there is a buried Junkers JU88 In 1979 I made a model JU88 and buried it under our garden path and the path was concreted over!

To this very day its still there hno:

Should not worry about it Ian. We all have our odd ways of displaying our models.

Laurie

 

[stona]

This is from the Beeb.

"Archaeologists hunting for World War II Spitfires in Burma believe there are no planes buried at the sites where they have been digging, the BBC understands.

The archaeologists have concluded that evidence does not support the original claim that as many as 124 Spitfires were buried at the end of the war, the BBC's Fergal Keane reports.

Wargaming.net, the firm financing the dig, has also said there are no planes."

As you may have gathered from my previous,sceptical posts,I'm not surprised. Cundall still says they are digging in the wrong place but then,as Mandy Rice-Davies famously said "Well, he would, wouldn't he?"

Steve

 

[Guest]

As you have said Steve not surprising. Did also wonder if they are there that the condition would not have been good. They had to drain the hole of water & also what would they have found to wrap parts waterproof for 24 aircraft in such a remote region. There would certainly not have been plastic bags sealed.

Pity though it would have been nice to explode our pessimism.

Now Mandy Rice "Crispies" as known at that time. Think it may have been better and more accurate if she has said well he did didn't he. Now the Perfumo affair (s) were much more exciting than Spitfires.

Laurie