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Post by Woody Williams on Aug 2, 2015 14:37:02 GMT -5
In two weeks, aviation archaeologists will start working to unearth what they expect will be as many as 36 new-in-the-box Supermarine Spitfires. British warbird researcher David Cundall believes the fighters were buried in crates near the end of World War II in Burma, now Myanmar. He worked for years to locate the cache, and earlier this year secured the rights to dig up the aircraft. Cundall said that a camera in a hole bored into the site reveals “an object that resembles a Spitfire.” He said the crates were sealed with tar and supported by teak timbers. British troops also placed a protective covering over the crates to help prevent water seepage, he said. The crates are thought to be buried about 30 feet underground alongside a runway at the Mingaladon Airport. Just why they would take the extreme measures to preserve so many of the Griffon-engined fighters is subject to some controversy. Some say it was to preserve them for later sale. Also, if there are, in fact, three dozen pristine Spitfires to be found, the effect on market price for the aircraft will be interesting to watch. Whatever the outcome, the waiting will soon be over, as work begins on January 12. 2 Looters trying to steal from the site of the dig were shot and killed by guards on December 29th. They were found with shovels and pick axes and it is believed they stupidly had the idea to steal a spitfire but how they were going to remove it from the site remains a mystery. Picture of Spitfires being crated up. image: edge.liveleak.com/80281E/s/s/19/media19/2012/Dec/31/LiveLeak-dot-com-bbb9ef2fb328-image.jpg.resized.jpg?d5e8cc8eccfb6039332f41f6249e92b06c91b4db65f5e99818bdd49e494cded29532&ec_rate=230Read more at www.liveleak.com/view?i=818_1356972252#4ICpUFjU9TbLOvBL.99
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Post by dbd870 on Aug 2, 2015 16:41:51 GMT -5
Very cool!
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Post by featherduster on Aug 2, 2015 19:01:05 GMT -5
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Post by Woody Williams on Aug 2, 2015 19:23:15 GMT -5
This report was dated 2012 as of January 2013 at that time only one was possibly located. That's interesting .. You'd think with all the electronic sensing stuff that we have today they could find more - IF they exist..
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Post by 36fan on Aug 6, 2015 12:07:27 GMT -5
This report was dated 2012 as of January 2013 at that time only one was possibly located. That's interesting .. You'd think with all the electronic sensing stuff that we have today they could find more - IF they exist.. They could use ground penetrating radar (GPR), but that only shows magnetic anomalies. If there was a lot of ferrous debris around, it would screw with the data and interpretation of the data, especially at a depth of 30 feet.
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