I was intrigued to learn that UK farmer David Cundall may
have located 20 or more Spitfires in Myanmar, buried in their original shipping
crates. If the discovery turns out to be the real deal, it makes a fine
counterpoint to Australia's decision last year to bury 23 F-111s beneath a
landfill - apparently there is a very real concern with asbestos and other
hazardous materials used in these old airframes.
Media reports suggest Cundall's plans are well advanced,
with the aircraft having been located, and a camera shoved down a borehole to
examine them. Cundall learned of the
aircraft speaking to British vets of the Burmese front. They claimed to have
buried the aircraft in 1945 following the end of WWII.
Though the aircraft are reportedly well packaged in wax
paper and so forth, one wonders how well preserved they could be. Sixty years
underground in the soggy climate of Burma is a very long time. There are very
good reasons why the USA stores old aircraft in the arid climes of Arizona and
California as opposed to the swamps of Florida or Louisiana. All it would take
is a few broken seals to corrode these Burmese Spitfires.
In any event, the west is having a love-in with the Burmese
regime, which these days shows signs of becoming more democratic. A more open
regime could well see Cundall's dream come true. Perhaps the old aircraft will
be excavated and shipped home - just the thought of the paperwork and expense
involved gives one pause - with a few examples becoming airworthy again someday.
In 2072 will Asian Skies write about a plan to dig up 23 former
RAAF F-111s?
have located 20 or more Spitfires in Myanmar, buried in their original shipping
crates. If the discovery turns out to be the real deal, it makes a fine
counterpoint to Australia's decision last year to bury 23 F-111s beneath a
landfill - apparently there is a very real concern with asbestos and other
hazardous materials used in these old airframes.
Media reports suggest Cundall's plans are well advanced,
with the aircraft having been located, and a camera shoved down a borehole to
examine them. Cundall learned of the
aircraft speaking to British vets of the Burmese front. They claimed to have
buried the aircraft in 1945 following the end of WWII.
Though the aircraft are reportedly well packaged in wax
paper and so forth, one wonders how well preserved they could be. Sixty years
underground in the soggy climate of Burma is a very long time. There are very
good reasons why the USA stores old aircraft in the arid climes of Arizona and
California as opposed to the swamps of Florida or Louisiana. All it would take
is a few broken seals to corrode these Burmese Spitfires.
In any event, the west is having a love-in with the Burmese
regime, which these days shows signs of becoming more democratic. A more open
regime could well see Cundall's dream come true. Perhaps the old aircraft will
be excavated and shipped home - just the thought of the paperwork and expense
involved gives one pause - with a few examples becoming airworthy again someday.
In 2072 will Asian Skies write about a plan to dig up 23 former
RAAF F-111s?
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