The new Battle of Burma, Missing Spitfires

[kanowarrior]

The new Battle of Burma: Find 20 buried Spitfires and make them fly

Historic planes buried in Second World War are to be shipped back to Britain after their mystery locations were discovered

War leaders did not want them to fall into foreign hands when they demobilised in 1945

Hidden in crates at a depth of 4ft to 6ft the RAF then forgot where they were

By Kirsty Walker
PUBLISHED: 18:17 EST, 13 April 2012 | UPDATED: 05:17 EST, 14 April 2012

Twenty brand-new RAF Spitfires could soon reach for the sky following a deal reached with Burma yesterday.

Experts believe they have discovered the locations of around 20 of the Second World War fighters buried at airfields around the country.

David Cameron has secured an agreement that they will be returned to Britain.

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.

The British campaign to push the Japanese out of Burma was the longest and bloodiest of the war, beginning after the Japanese invaded in late 1941

Spitfires helped to support the Chindit special forces on the ground – and proved a huge boost to morale. They played a crucial role in defeating the enemy and covering the subsequent Allied advance through Burma, protecting the ground troops and providing vital supplies.

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.

But aviation enthusiasts, aided by experts from the University of Leeds and a Second World War veteran who witnessed their burial, believe they have now discovered their locations using ground penetrating radar technology.

Downing Street said the Government wants to unearth the aircraft and restore them to their former glory.

The condition of the cargo boxes and aircraft, whose wings and body are buried separately, is unknown. But experts are hopeful that they are well preserved.

A Downing Street source said that Mr Cameron had secured an agreement from the Burmese president to help Britain excavate the aircraft in a joint heritage project.

‘The Spitfire is arguably the most important plane in the history of aviation, playing a crucial role in the Second World War.

‘It is hoped this will be an opportunity to work with the reforming Burmese government to uncover, restore and display these fighter planes and get them gracing the skies of Britain once again,’ they said.

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[kanowarrior]

Excavators head to Myanmar to find WWII Spitfires
Associated Press - January 4, 2013

LONDON (AP) — An airplane-obsessed farmer, a freelance archaeologist, and a team of excavators are heading from Britain to the Myanmar city of Yangon on Saturday to find a nearly forgotten stash of British fighter planes thought to be carefully buried beneath the former capital's airfield.

The venture, backed with a million-dollar guarantee from a Belarusian videogame company, could uncover dozens of Spitfire aircraft locked underground by American engineers at the end of World War II.

"We could easily double the number of Spitfires that are still known to exist," said 63-year-old David Cundall, the farmer and private pilot who has spent nearly two decades pursuing the theory that 36 of the famous fighter planes were buried, still in excellent condition, in wooden crates in a riverbed at the end of an airport runway.

"In the Spitfire world it will be similar to finding Tutankhamen's tomb," he told reporters at a media conference held in a London airport hotel Friday.

Not everyone is as convinced. Even at the conference, freelance archaeologist Andy Brockman acknowledged that it was "entirely possible" that all the team would find was a mass of corroded metal — if it found anything at all.

But Cundall said eyewitness testimony — from British and American veterans as well as elderly local residents of Myanmar — coupled with survey data, aerial pictures, and ground radar soundings left him in no doubt that the planes were down there.

[kanowarrior]

British Spitfire search team arrives in Myanmar
By By AYE AYE WIN | Associated Press

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A search team led by a British aviation enthusiast arrived in Myanmar on Sunday to begin a dig they hope will unearth dozens of rare British Spitfire fighter planes said to have been buried in the Southeast Asian country at the end of World War II.

The 21-member team led by farmer and businessman David Cundall will start excavations soon near the airport in the main city, Yangon.

Cundall said the aircraft were buried in wooden crates around 30 feet under the ground and the project would take about four to six weeks to complete.

"We are expecting them to be in first-class condition," Cundall said shortly after arriving at the international airport in Yangon.

The Spitfire remains Britain's most famous combat aircraft. Its reputation was cemented during the Battle of Britain when the fast-moving single-seater aircraft helped beat back waves of German bombers.

Britain built a total of about 20,000 Spitfires, although the dawn of the jet age at the end of World War II meant that the propeller-driven planes quickly became obsolete.

The planes believed to be in Myanmar were buried by American engineers as the war drew to a close. Searchers hope they are in pristine condition, but Andy Brockman, a freelance archaeologist who is part of the search team, said it was possible all they might find is a mass of corroded metal and rusty aircraft parts.

Nevertheless, he said, "I'm very confident that we'll have answers to the story of what happened ... in 1945."

The venture is being backed by the Belarusian videogame company Wargaming.net, which is best known for its multiplayer titles including "World of Warplanes" and "World of Tanks."

The search team says 36 Spitfires are believed to be buried near Yangon airport, while another 18 are in Myitkyina in northern Kachin state and six more are buried in Meikthila in central Myanmar.
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Myanmar Spitfire hunt leads to water-filled crate
By By AYE AYE WIN | Associated Press

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."

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[kanowarrior]

Archaeologists find no buried World War II surplus Spitfires in Burma
Shane McGlaun, Jan 18th 2013

Last April archaeologists left for a very interesting dig in Burma. The archaeologists were out to find a number of British Spitfire fighter aircraft that were allegedly buried as surplus after World War II. The story went that in 1945 a number of aircraft were shipped from the manufacturer to Burma in their standard shipping crates.

The aircraft were said to have been waxed, wrapped grease paper, and tarred to protect them against the elements. When the aircraft arrived at their final destination, the war had ended leaving the aircraft unneeded. As the story goes, British commanders ordered soldiers to bury the aircraft in their shipping crates because it was cheaper than shipping them back to England.

Archaeologists have been digging at the site of Rangoon airport in Burma where eyewitnesses have said that the aircraft were buried at the end of World War II. The archaeologists believe that as many as 124 spitfires were buried and an initial survey of the Rangoon site revealed large concentrations of metal under the ground supporting the idea that as many as 36 of the Spitfire aircraft were buried there.

However, the archaeologists are now stating that the evidence gathered so far does not support the original claim that Spitfire aircraft were buried at Rangoon. Interestingly, a buried crate was discovered in the Kachin state capital Myitkyina earlier this month that could be associated with the allegedly buried Spitfire aircraft, but muddy water prevented immediate identification of the crate’s contents. That city was rumored to be another site where surplus aircraft were buried after World War II.

[kanowarrior]

Man Refuses To Give Up On A WWII Spitfire Hunt That's Consumed Him For Years
By The Telegraph | Business Insider – Sun, Jan 20, 2013 11:40 AM EST.

The hunt for 36 lost RAF Spitfires at a Burmese airfield may not be completely over despite the failure to find a single rivet belonging to the aircraft.

Almost two weeks ago David Cundall’s dreams were - it seemed - about to be fulfilled. The Lincolnshire farmer and warplane hunter had finally achieved his aim of digging at precisely the spot where he believed Spitfire after Spitfire had been buried as the RAF left Burma.

For 16 years, Mr Cundall, 62, had been convinced that dozens of Spitfires were buried in their shipping crates, including 36 at Mingaladon, a former RAF base that is now Rangoon International Airport.

This week, however, his archaeologists and the delegation sent by multi-millionaire backer who had helped fund his search will be heading home, privately accepting there are no Spitfires.

Mr Cundall himself is defiant in his belief that Burma will give up the Mark XIV Spitfires he is convinced were buried there in 1945 and 1946. Last night he declared: “I will prove to the world that there are Spitfires down there. I am more convinced now than I have ever been before.

“Of course I am not giving up. I will politely prove my critics wrong.” He added: “My morale now is higher than it has ever been.”

This was despite the fact that when he and the archaeologists dug an exploratory trench at Mingaladon, they found nothing.

After site observations and scouring hundreds of 1940s’ documents, the independent archaeologists concluded no Spitfires had ever been buried at Mingaladon, and suggested privately that the hunter might have swayed by servicemen’s rumours.

One member of the Wargaming delegation muttered despairingly about “white man’s folly” - but Cundall simply says that the archaeologists dug in the wrong place and gave up too early.

The moment Mr Cundall had been striving towards for more than a quarter of his lifetime seemed to have arrived when he and his team flew into Burma on January 7 - in the teeth of scepticism, but with a Burmese digging permit, and financial backing from Victor Kislyi, 36, the Belarusian behind the online computer game company Wargaming.net, who fancied a real-life “Indiana Jones adventure”.

He also brought geophysicists, old soldier Stan Coombe, 86, Cundall’s star witness, and the independent archaeologists: Martin Brown, 47, Rod Scott, 49, and their leader Andy Brockman, 51.

In the tropical heat and rising tension, *The Sunday Telegraph* found a colour code for the gravity of any situation: the pallor of Tracy Spaight, the leader of the Wargaming delegation.

A former schoolteacher who had studied the 18th Century Enlightenment to postgraduate level, he seemed to struggle to comprehend the Burmese approach to business and bureaucracy. When the JCBs rumbled through the Mingaladon airfield gate to be stopped after five yards for want of the ’correct’ permit - Spaight’s face suggested white alert, approaching translucent. But a ’correct’ permit was eventually obtained. The site was blessed by a Buddhist monk.

To the frustration of Cundall, who insisted he already knew where the Spitfires were, careful geophysical surveys were also conducted to identify promising digging spots.

Last Tuesday, only about a week later than Cundall expected, digging began. And by Wednesday morning, he was convinced it was all going wrong. “All this trowel scraping! They’re jumping up and down when they find a nail,” he said.

The archaeologists proudly held aloft a piece of pierced steel planking, (PSP) part of a makeshift wartime runway or road: clear evidence of ’conflict activity’. Staying under the shade, representatives of Cundall’s Burmese agents, the Shwe Taung Por (STP) Group seemed bemused; PSP is the stuff that was recycled to make half the garden fences in Rangoon, including the row of houses bordering the dig site.

The Burmese also couldn’t understand the determination of these Westerners to concentrate on Mingaladon, when, with Mr Cundall’s help, they had already found and announced - what they believed was a crate containing a Spitfire at Myitkyina, in the north.

Mr Spaight, however, paled at the ramifications of digging at a military airfield close to an area of conflict with rebel groups. And now, with the help of archive documents, the archaeologists were constructing a picture - which showed no records of any crated Spitfires arriving in Rangoon to be buried.

Mr Brockman insisted the buried Spitfires legend was “absolutely worthy of investigation.” He also suggested you might have better luck looking for Spitfires in Rangoon market.

The records showed old Mark VIIIs being broken up and sold for scrap. “If you found an old wok, it might contain metal from a Mingaladon Spitfire.” Suddenly everyone was “backtracking”. “The archaeologists are backtracking,” said Mr Cundall.

“Cundall’s backtracking,” said a Wargaming executive.

Increasingly convinced there were no buried Spitfires, the Wargaming delegation had a plan. They would dive in a nearby lake, encouraged by a local suggesting that a retreating American squadron dumped all sorts of things there when Rangoon fell to the Japanese in 1942.

They considered getting Scuba diving equipment from Thailand, and worried that the lake was overlooked by what appeared to be military barracks. The plan was shelved.

On Wednesday night Mr Spaight, now an alarming shade of pale, told Mr Cundall bad news. The Burmese authorities had revoked his digging permit. They worried that digging so close to Rangoon’s only international runway might undermine it and cause a collapse. Mr Cundall threw his hands in the air, exclaimed “We’ve lost it!” and sank into a chair with tears in his eyes.

The next morning there was a compromise. Digging could be done, but only by night, when no planes were using the runway. But there was no digging, and instead a series of crisis meetings. Mr Spaight was ghostly.

Another grown man was crying, muttering “I believed him, I believed him. He’ll keep going and going.” He added: “Saying the Spitfires are there, over the rainbow. It’s white man’s folly.”

As Wargaming and the archaeologists prepared to go home, they privately conceded that there are no Spitfires to be found.

They said shipping records suggest that in 1945 and 1946, when Cundall insists the planes were being buried, there were in fact no crated Spitfires arriving in Burma at all. They also discounted Myitkyina, where Cundall and his Burmese partners insisted they had found a waterlogged crate that might contain a Spitfire.

Mr Brockman, 51, the lead archaeologist, said the timber structure at Myitkyina, whose murky interior was inconclusively filmed by Cundall’s Burmese partners using the Englishman’s car reversing camera, was probably an empty Japanese bunker.

Mr Cundall, however, remains convinced he can find Spitfires. Unmoved by the archaeologists’ arguments and the imminent departure of his Wargaming backers, he said he now planned to prove everyone wrong by going to Myitkyina and finding a Spitfire.

“Get me a digger and I will show you a Spitfire in a day,” he said. “You will see it with your own eyes. There are 18 of them down there. I am 100 per cent certain of it.”

He claimed the archaeologists and Wargaming “took over” and dug in the wrong place at Mingaladon. The archaeologists vigorously dispute this, saying that they clearly agreed the location of the trench with him before they started digging.

Told that the archaeologists claimed that no crated Spitfires arrived in Burma in 1945 and 1946, and that the RAF actually kept meticulous records of their aircraft in Burma, Mr Cundall said: “Well, I disagree. There is overwhelming evidence, so many eyewitnesses but the archaeologists don’t trust eyewitnesses.”

He added that the lack of documentary records could be explained by paperwork going missing somewhere between Burma and London, and by the RAF wanting to bury the Spitfires quietly, rather than leave written evidence of what they had done.

Clearly stung by the fact that his Wargaming backers appear to have stopped believing him, Cundall said: “All of sudden everything I have done in 16 years is supposedly wrong. But they are basing their comments on archaeologists who say they can’t find anything about it in in the records, so therefore it didn’t happen.”

(see next post)

[kanowarrior]

(Continued from last post)

He said many observers failed to understand the bureaucratic complications of digging on an active airfield in areas peppered with sensitive fibre optic cables.

“People sat in their armchairs saying 'where are these Spitfires?’ don’t’ understand the difficulties.”

He added: “I believe it is better to have tried and failed than never have tried at all.”

Although the Wargaming delegation is preparing to leave Burma, the company will continue to fund Cundall, meeting the expenses of his Myitkyina dig.

Yesterday, in what appeared to be a deliberate show of unity, the excavation team returned to the site to begin preparatory digging in Cundall’s preferred area.

Mr Spaight said digging would continue until the moment they left, which would probably be Tuesday.

He said the expedition had always been about much more than just Spitfire hunting.

“We would love to pull a Spitfire out of the ground, but we have always said this is about the story, the background, the archaeological research.

“No-one has been able to come here and dig for the archaeology before. We feel so privileged to have been given the opportunity to do so.” The imminent departure of the archaeologists and his Wargaming backers seemed to please Mr Cundall.

His buoyant morale, he explained, was because he would now be able to go to Myitkyina with his Burmese partners, but without the 21-strong entourage that was the Wargaming delegation and their archaeologists.

"There is nothing worse than having 21 'experts’ telling me how to do things in 21 different ways."

He would press on to Myitkyina “as soon as possible”. "I can’t wait," he said.

The hunt for the missing squadrons is not - yet - entirely over.