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Post by Naki on Apr 17, 2012 9:36:03 GMT 12
Brendon Deere's "AL" is an ex Burmese Spitfire
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 17, 2012 9:47:39 GMT 12
Yes the Thai Air Force flew the Mk. 19 Spitfires and there is at least one preserved there.
And yes Brendon Deere's Spitfire is one of the four or so that came out of Burma in the 1990's.
Errol M, you seem to be right, the newspapers are making up a fair bit of this story. A couple of notable Spitfire people have stated on another forum that they have seen the scans, and they show not crates as they are wooden and the scans would not pick that up, but fuselage shapes all lined up together, that look 25-30 feet long. So there might at least be some fuselages.
Let's not forget the buried Lancasters in the UK that showed up on the scans as perfect outlines, and when they dug for them, there was nothing there. The shapes they found was the residue left after the soil had eaten the metal!
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Post by angelsonefive on Apr 17, 2012 10:02:56 GMT 12
Thanks for the link ErrolC.
The Spitfire production list confirms that these 17 s.s. Empire Gambier Spitfire 14s were assigned to ACSEA and were all Struck off Charge in 1947, with the exceptions of NH751 which was SOC on 28/11/46 and NH776, SOC 25/4/46, and TZ124 on 3/2/46.
I think the answer to the question of the fate of these aircraft lies in the aircraft record cards, which are now held at the RAF Museum, Hendon.
The staff at the museum are very helpful in replying to questions, in my experience, but it can take weeks to get a response.
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Post by kiwitone on Apr 20, 2012 10:47:01 GMT 12
Iwas going to put this in as a rumour but its been in the papers here that Myanmar is to release several WWII aircraft as a gesture of good will....They are going to give spitfires back to britain: 20 of them! Believed to be mark XIV's aircraft. and still in crates! this has got to be the deal of a lifetime. I have been looking to make sure it wasn't a hangover from april the first but this appears gen up imagine what other aircraft are there?
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Post by mikey51 on Apr 20, 2012 10:51:37 GMT 12
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Post by rcnanman on Apr 25, 2012 4:51:48 GMT 12
Came across this post accidentally, Interestingly my uncle was a USN CB in the Aleutians at the end of the war. About 25 years ago while telling some stories (also served on an Atlantic armed merchant before the cb's) he mentioned burying crated airplanes in Alaska. He wondered what effect the permafrost would have on preserving them. He passed about five years ago. Thought I'd share his story. Thanks
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Post by beagle on Apr 25, 2012 21:40:14 GMT 12
i'm out on the whole thing till i see them above ground and out of the crates
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Post by baz62 on Apr 26, 2012 16:17:28 GMT 12
One post I've seen on the Flypast forum thinks the chance of them sitting nicely in their crates will be a miracle. Given the rain they get and the weight of soil on crates not designed for bearing weight in the first place they may well have collapsed. But of course lets see what they do find and hope there is something salvageable.
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Post by lumpy on Apr 26, 2012 17:42:37 GMT 12
One post I've seen on the Flypast forum thinks the chance of them sitting nicely in their crates will be a miracle. Given the rain they get and the weight of soil on crates not designed for bearing weight in the first place they may well have collapsed. But of course lets see what they do find and hope there is something salvageable. I read somewhere that they put teak beams across the tops to prevent them collapsing ( mainly if driven over ) , so after all these years , who knows ? Its interesting but I wouldnt hold my hopes up too high . Time will tell .
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Post by chinapilot on Apr 26, 2012 19:00:07 GMT 12
Next story will be that they even had mummified security guards as well...
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Post by fu24lover on Apr 26, 2012 20:34:42 GMT 12
Surely if you didn't want the enemy to get hold of your aircraft, you'd burn them like our occupation force did in japan with the corsairs. But this has the makings of a good "TUI" add....
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 26, 2012 20:35:37 GMT 12
With the US Government going after the mythical wreck of Amelia Earhart's plane and the UK Government going after buried Spitfires, maybe now is the best time to convince John Key that saving that Ventura in the islands is a good idea - because it's a worldwide Government trend....
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Post by gunny on Apr 27, 2012 1:27:43 GMT 12
Let's not forget the buried Lancasters in the UK that showed up on the scans as perfect outlines, and when they dug for them, there was nothing there. The shapes they found was the residue left after the soil had eaten the metal! I'd like to know see/read more on this if you have any links Dave please? (sorry i know its off topic)
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 27, 2012 9:00:24 GMT 12
Search the internet, it's a well know story.
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Post by gunny on Apr 27, 2012 20:59:00 GMT 12
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Post by shamus on May 1, 2012 9:46:43 GMT 12
Latest report says now 124 Spitfires location found in Burma. Will post the link shortly.
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Post by saratoga on May 1, 2012 17:57:32 GMT 12
Wouldn't it be great if they found a few Buffaloes among them!
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Post by shamus on May 1, 2012 19:05:38 GMT 12
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Post by corsair67 on May 1, 2012 20:06:56 GMT 12
Latest report says now 124 Spitfires location found in Burma. Will post the link shortly. Yep, and I know of a Nigerian bloke who can back this search - so long as someone here on the forum is prepared to send him their bank account details so he can deposit US$124 million into their account for safekeeping while he sorts out money transfer issues at home!
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Post by beagle on May 1, 2012 21:58:24 GMT 12
Latest news I heard was that they have dug down so deep, they have come back up in another country and found 17 skyhawks cocooned. ww.helensmess.com
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