Area 51

36 Spitfires?
...so the existing ones will lose much of their value.
The preservation condition of the Spits would be interesting...

It looks like this is actually going to happen --- given that the planes are actually in the crates ...

Daily Telegraph

Yep!

http://news.uk.msn.com/world/lost-spitfires-to-be-recovered?cp-documentid=251698392#scptmd

Hold on guys.

Get a grip on reality please.

Burma. Famous for what? Jungle? Jungle weather? Hot and Wet? Wooden Boxes? Soft wood packing cases? Don't last long buried in the ground here, and in very wet soil in a hot Jungle? 60 years buried, you'd be lucky to find nails!

Then you have the aircraft. Roots and corrosion will have damaged everything. They will have to be dug up by archaeologists with trowels, or all you'll have is so much scrap ally, and not worth much.

Time to call Time Team!

Hi Gibbo,

Seems when they found the hoard they sent cameras down first, and peered into some of the crates!!?

Only when they knew they were 'sweet as' did the bargaining begin.

They are not arguing over junk I can assure you!!



Col.

Hi Nate.

Where can we see the video of the inside of these boxes?

I just wonder if this farmer guy, is funding all this work out of his own pocket? It's easy to raise risk money, if thee is a golden pot at the end of the rainbow.

Hi Guys,

This may answer a few questions. An article in the Times newspaper today says that according to research carried out by this David Cundall chap, up to 124 brand new spits - believed to be Griffon engined Mk XIV were left in Burma at the end of the war. It was decided that it was too expensive to ship them home and due to the unstable political situation in the area it was decided it was unsafe to leave them just lying around so they were packed up in the crates they were delivered in from the Castle Bromwich plant -"carefully greased, tarred and wrapped in greaseproof paper" and buried at 5 sites. 2 of these sites are said to have been located with ground radar and remote cameras "inserted into the crates to check the condition. Mr Cundall has turned down backing from one Steve Boultbee Brooks,who is not happy, and after getting an agreement signed with the Burmese Government has found another "unidentified backer" to fund the operation. The government has signed a contract with a local company to begin excavation this month so it all sounds pretty definite. Of course exactly how many spits they may recover and what condition they are in remains to be seen. The potential profit is enormous, particularly if they release them slowly and do not flood the market. Some are to remain in Burma, but it is estimated that in good condition they could fetch between £1.5 and £2.5 million each.The unidentified backer is supposed to have put up half a million pounds and will then buy whatever they find, presumably to sell on later.

Pete

Ask your self this question.

Why would they take so much care with these Spitfires?

At the same time new aircraft were being dumped over the side of carriers, buried, burnt, and cut up all over the world.

I remember a while back, some Spitfires were repatriated from Burma, and there are a few preserved in Burma too, all MkIX's, and were from the Israeli Airforce.

Anyway, what effect will there be on the secondhand price of a Spitfire? Are there enough people in the world who would want to buy one at such a high price, and the afford another few million to restore it?

I remember a guy who bought about 25 T34 tanks, all in working order, in the early 90's. He brought them all to England, and tried to sell them from the dock were they were unloaded from a ship. I think he sold two and scrapped the rest.

If this guy finds these Spits, he would be better off keeping them secret, and only selling one or two a year. 60 in one go would destroy the Spitfire market, and make lots of rich people very angry!

It would be a bit like finding a warehouse full of Aston Martin DB6's.

Well, finding 60 aircraft is one thing. Next is seeing how many can be restored. Maybe 40? So how fast can they be restored to flying conditions? With the care and precision restorations are done, maybe 3 a year? So by 2030 the Spitfire fleet might have doubled. Will that halve the value of the other Spits out there?