Strategic Spitfire Reserve

[yorksrob]

In what must be one of the most cheering items of news at the moment, it looks like they've found a large number of mothballed Spitfires that were carefully buried in Burma at the end of WW2 !

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/17/spitfire-planes-burma-excavation

I wonder what are the chances of there being a reserve of locomotives buried in some far flung corner of the former Empire !

 

[pablo]

If all are recovered and capable of restoration, it will halve the value of existing airworthy ones. You'll only need a cool £half-million to buy one then.

 

[Mvann]

I'm sure somebody told me about this about 6 months ago, or at least the find.

 

[ainsworth74]

I'm sure somebody told me about this about 6 months ago, or at least the find.

That was probably when they found them, this seems to be reporting that an agreement to excavate them has been signed.

 

[jopsuk]

I've seen 16 fly in close formation (Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2010- a further flightworthy one was on the flightline and another flew past with the Battle of Britain Flight); once these are brought up and brought to flight status, I wonder how many will be able to be brought together at once? The thought of 30+ Spitfires airborne in close formation is rather special.

 

[yorksrob]

If all are recovered and capable of restoration, it will halve the value of existing airworthy ones. You'll only need a cool £half-million to buy one then.

You got one stashed somewhere then ?

 

[Yew]

I wouldnt call Box Hill Tunnel far flung


Unfortunately I imagine any locomotives would be utilised by the local government, whereas the RAF may have been reluctant to leave Highly capable fighter planes out in the open for anyone to come along and use/repair. Even though by todays standards the Spitfire is obsolete, Imagine if (for example) a somalian warlord/gang/whatever got hold of one, It could have had devestating effects.

 

[pablo]

I wish.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The latest report is that the buried stash of Spitfires may total 140 rather than 60!

They are all later models with Griffon engines, not Merlins.