Calling Captain Jack Harkness: 20 pristine Spitfires found buried in Burma

Alessandra Kelley

Alessandra Kelley

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This is just awesome.

Spitfires Buried in Burma To Be Excavated

Spitfires 'Lost' In Burma Could Fly

David Cameron reaches deal on Spitfires buried in Burma

The aircraft were reportedly shipped to an RAF base in the country late in the war, but were never used due to the development of more apt fighters. With the threat of a Japanese occupation looming, the Allied forces decided to bury the aircraft within their crates, where they sat just a couple weeks later as the use of atomic bombs brought the war to an end -- and have remained entombed ever since.
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Experts from Leeds University have linked up with an academic based in Rangoon and believe they have identified the sites where the craft are concealed using sophisticated radar techniques.
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It appears to be at least twelve and probably twenty Spitfire Mark XIV aeroplanes, still weatherproofed and in their original shipping crates, buried under an airport in Burma since 1945.

There are only 35 Spitfires left in the world that can actually fly. If this is works out it is a truly significant find!
 
Don

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I was excited about the real find until blacbird came along with his fantasy. Dammit, bb! :D

Very cool find. This reminds me of another novel, too, but I don't remember the name at the moment. Too much LDS, like rob said, I guess.
 
Romantic Heretic

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blacbird said:
We got all the damn mosquitoes you could ever possibly want up here in Alaska where I live. Come get 'em.

caw
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Not members of the genus Anopheles, but this plane.

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AncientEagle

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Romantic Heretic said:
Probably the prettiest fighter of WWII. Now if someone could just find a similar cache of Mosquitos.
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Not to take anything away from either the Spitfire or the Mosquito, but in my personal opinion the most beautiful fighter of WWII was the P51 Mustang. I've not only admired them on the ground and in photographs, but saw them in action in the Dominican Republic during their revolution in 1965-66. Amazingly graceful. (The aircraft, not the revolution.)
 
mirandashell

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There are plans to bring one of the Spits to Birmingham where a lot of the planes were built. That would be great.

Such a beautiful plane in the air. If they are still flyable, that would be even better.
 
Maxx

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AncientEagle said:
Not to take anything away from either the Spitfire or the Mosquito, but in my personal opinion the most beautiful fighter of WWII was the P51 Mustang. I've not only admired them on the ground and in photographs, but saw them in action in the Dominican Republic during their revolution in 1965-66. Amazingly graceful. (The aircraft, not the revolution.)
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I think it is fitting that of all planes it is 20 Spitfires that get magically resurrected. Not to take away from the Mosquito, but the Spitfire has always had a mystical aura.

Of course it is kinda fun when any old machinery gets reassembled. There are some Russian Tractors in my barn that probably could use some resurrecting. I keep forgetting to sell them. They have no auras at all. Perhaps they have aura-absorbing qualities.
 
Mclesh

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AncientEagle said:
Not to take anything away from either the Spitfire or the Mosquito, but in my personal opinion the most beautiful fighter of WWII was the P51 Mustang. I've not only admired them on the ground and in photographs, but saw them in action in the Dominican Republic during their revolution in 1965-66. Amazingly graceful. (The aircraft, not the revolution.)
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Ancient Eagle, this is my mother's favorite plane. A couple of summers ago, we took her to the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, CA. It's a truly impressive place with a large collection of vintage planes. (Great place for anyone interested in aviation.) They, of course, had a P51 Mustang. It was beautiful.

Thanks for posting this, Alessandra. I'm going to pass it on to my mom. :)
 
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