Buried since 1945 in Myanmar, British Spitfires to be unearthed

04:45 AM Apr 15, 2012

MYANMAR - British Prime Minister David Cameron has reached an agreement with the Myanmar authorities to dig up the remains of up to 20 Royal Air Force Spitfires that were buried in what was then Burma, two weeks before the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan in 1945.

A group of Spitfire enthusiasts, who believe they have identified the whereabouts of the planes at airfields using radar technology, will have the right to start digging.

The agreement, reached with President Thein Sein at his palace in the Myanmar capital of Naypyidaw, raises the prospect of doubling the number of surviving Spitfires in the world. Only 35 of those built remain in a good enough condition to fly today. There are potentially 20 buried in crates under Myanmar soil.

A Downing Street source said: "The Spitfire is arguably the most important plane in the history of aviation, playing a crucial role in World War II."

Shortly before the Americans bombed Hiroshima on Aug 6, 1945, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, fearing the planes might be captured and used by the Japanese, had ordered the Spitfires to be buried. Japan surrendered after the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki - but the planes appeared to have been forgotten in the Myanmar soil. The Guardian