15 years of planning and searching, 12 trips to Burma, and determination in the face of financial ruin finally paid off for David Cundall. He managed to locate 20 Spitfires that were buried during the Allied withdrawal of Burma in WWII.
“They were just buried there in transport crates,” Mr Cundall said. “They were waxed, wrapped in greased paper and their joints tarred. They will be in near perfect condition.”
I’m not sure what logistical issues kept the planes from simply being flown out rather than buried but if Mr. Cundall’s assertion of near perfect condition turns out to be correct, he certainly hit paydirt.
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The story is/was at that time, it was cheaper to bury them then to ship them home.
The planes were deemed surplus and were buried in Aug., 1945 — potentially along with another eight later in the year. At that time, propeller planes were falling out of fashion in favor of newer jet-engine designs — Cundall said Spitfires “were 10 a penny.” British military officials decided burying them was cheaper and more practical than bringing them home.
ref: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/04/19/buried-treasure-in-burma-squadron-lost-wwii-spitfires-to-be-exhumed/#ixzz1t3htSi7O
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