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A Spitfire Mk XIV at Duxford (Photo Brian Proctor (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)).

Press release: Global Logistics company Claridon Group Ltd have stepped in to save David Cundall’s project to locate buried Spitfires in Burma.  After 16 years of dedicating his life to the project as well as his life savings,  David is heading back to Burma to resume excavating and finding  the Spitfires.

Due to a lack of sponsorship earlier this year the project looked doomed. After hearing about David’s situation,  Claridon, stepped in to provide the funding to allow the project to continue. Claridon who’s HQ are located in Stanford-Le-Hope, Essex also have an office in Burma and are the first privately owned British company to set up there.

Chris Scott, Claridon Group’s MD said ” after meeting David and listening to how he has devoted a large part of his life as well as his  life savings trying to find  these iconic aircraft which played such a pivotal role in WW2, and seeing  his deep rooted passion for preserving part of our history & heritage for generations to come, we just had to get involved. David’s “never give up attitude” along with his incredible drive and devoting his life to the project deserves to   be applauded & supported throughout the country. Claridon Group  are proud to partner David and provide the funding to enable him and his team to find the Spitfires.   We will be supporting David every step of the way and look forward to bringing  the Spitfires back home for him.

David Cundall commented ” I am extremely grateful to Claridon for saving the project and providing the funding for the project to continue. Without their support, I wouldn’t be heading back to Burma to finish the work I started all those years ago. Being experts in Global Logistics as well their 20+ years experience in military logistics, the Spitfires could not be in better hands when they are eventually shipped  back to the UK ”

David Cundall estimates that restoring the Spitfires back to original will create 400 UK jobs over a 5 year period after which many of the aircraft will find homes in Museums up and down the country.

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A Spitfire Mk XIV at Duxford (Photo Brian Proctor (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)).

With the ongoing debate concerning the presence of crated Spitfires deep in Burma’s soil, one of our visitors, Peter, shared a link to an article from the Myanmar Times by Derek Tonkin: Myanmar’s phantom Spitfires: how a legend was born.

This article provides some useful insight on how the Burmese Spitfires legend began, and whether it should be given any credit. It is by no means an optimistic conclusion that is drawn by Derek Tonkin, especially for those who still want to hope that the Spitfires will show up, but an interesting read altogether.

Thanks to Peter for sharing the link!

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A Spitfire Mk II at Duxford (Photo Brian Proctor (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)).

The latest news about the great Spitfire search in Burma seems quite pessimistic. David Cundall, followed by thousands of aviation enthusiasts, was hoping to locate dozens of Spitfire buried in crates in Burma at the end of the Second World War.

The research team began diggin recently but has only dug up metal sheets that were used to build the runway during the war for the moment.

In addition, Burmese authorities intervened this Wednesday and halted the search, following rumours that the team was tunnelling beneath Rangoon international airport’s runway. The team was finally allowed to resume their search but is now limited to using showels and can no longer use mechanized diggers.

It might be premature to say, as one of the disappointed members of the search team did, that “there are no Spitfires” to be found. Understandably, the whole deal has been considered with plenty of scepticism by many observers from the start.

We’ll have to wait and see, again. As the saying goes: “if it’s too good to be true, then it probably is”.

Source:

• ITV.com

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A Spitfire Mk XIV at Duxford (Photo Brian Proctor (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)).

Since the announcement last April that some 20 Spitfire Mk XIV had been found buried in Burma, very little information has been available concerning this extraordinary discovery. Some observers were understandably sceptical, given the lack of information and rumours stating that there could be 60 or more such Spitfires to be found.

These last few days, more information has appeared in British press. It would seem that the excavations should start at the end of the month and will take up to two years. A contract has been signed between David Cundall, the British enthusiast who discovered the location of the buried aircraft, and the Burmese government.

The first part of the operation should unearth 60 aircraft (instead of 20 as initially thought): 36 in Mingaladon, 18 in Myitkyina and six in Meikthila.More aircraft are supposed to be excavated later. The Burmese government is expecting to recuperate one aircraft for display in a museum, as well as half of the remaining aircraft. David Cundall’s company DJC will recuperate 30% while Burmese partner company Shwe Taung Paw will keep the remaining 20%.

Sources:

• Huffington Post
• Daily Mail (avec une photo d’époque)

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A Spitfire Mk XIV at Duxford (Photo Brian Proctor (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)).

This is such extraordinary news that one wonders if it can actually be true: the Telegraph reports that twenty Spitfire Mk XIV* that were discovered buried in Burma will be returned to the UK. David Cameron himself, having taken an interest in the case, has asked and obtained permission to recover the aircraft from the Burmese government.

The aircraft were buried at the end of World War II with some possibly being added a few months later, as they were no longer needed for operations. To avoid having them fall in the wrong hands, they were buried in their transport crates covered in waxed and greased paper, with all seals tarred. As a result, one can hope they are still in very good shape and could quickly be restored.

It is thanks to David Cunhall, a 62-year old British farmer, that the Spitfires were found. Having heard of their burial, he took 12 trips to Burma to locate them, spending over £130,000 in the process. He eventually found them in February. Having informed British authorities of his discovery, his story caught David Cameron’s attention, which explains the Prime Minister’s unexpected intervention.

The aircraft are to be dug out by a team which is already in place in Burma, and the salvage operations should begin very soon. The cost of the entire operation should near £500,000 but David Cunhall was reported as saying he hoped he could recover his money and dreams of seeing an entire squadron of flying Spitfires.

*Although we had initially indicated that the aircraft were Spitfire Mk II, the aircraft are Mk XIV with possibly some Mk VIII as well.

Read more:

• The Telegraph (on David Cundall)
• The Guardian
• Mail Online