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| Britons near moment of truth in quest to find buried Spitfires in Burma | Britons near moment of truth in quest to find buried Spitfires in Burma |
| (4 months later) | |
| Early next year, after more than 15 years of negotiating bureaucracy, snakes, monsoons, rivals and a military junta, a Lincolnshire farmer and his team will stand at the edge of a Burmese airport and hope to God that they were right. | Early next year, after more than 15 years of negotiating bureaucracy, snakes, monsoons, rivals and a military junta, a Lincolnshire farmer and his team will stand at the edge of a Burmese airport and hope to God that they were right. |
| If they are, then 10 metres beneath their feet will lie a dozen, three dozen, or perhaps even more, Mk14 Spitfires that were painstakingly interred as the second world war ended in the far east. | If they are, then 10 metres beneath their feet will lie a dozen, three dozen, or perhaps even more, Mk14 Spitfires that were painstakingly interred as the second world war ended in the far east. |
| Should they be wrong, the surveys, the visas, the permits and the money – not to mention the services of the Buddhist monk the Burmese government has requested them to hire to bless the ground – will have been in vain. | Should they be wrong, the surveys, the visas, the permits and the money – not to mention the services of the Buddhist monk the Burmese government has requested them to hire to bless the ground – will have been in vain. |
| But David Cundall and his backers are quietly confident that they have pinpointed their prey. | But David Cundall and his backers are quietly confident that they have pinpointed their prey. |
| The Griffon-engined fighters, which were, unusually, buried rather than destroyed shortly before the bombing of Hiroshima in August 1945, are believed to have been packed into waterproof crates and hidden at the end of Mingaladon airfield, a British base in Burma which is now part of Yangon's international airport. | The Griffon-engined fighters, which were, unusually, buried rather than destroyed shortly before the bombing of Hiroshima in August 1945, are believed to have been packed into waterproof crates and hidden at the end of Mingaladon airfield, a British base in Burma which is now part of Yangon's international airport. |
| Cundall, a 63-year-old farmer, private pilot and aircraft hunter who has been unearthing plane carcasses for 35 years, first heard of the Spitfires' burial in 1996. | Cundall, a 63-year-old farmer, private pilot and aircraft hunter who has been unearthing plane carcasses for 35 years, first heard of the Spitfires' burial in 1996. |
| Following 16 trips to the country and a 2004 geophysical survey that will, he hopes, corroborate witness testimony about when, how and where the planes were hidden, he is now on the verge of a discovery that could double the worldwide population of airworthy Spitfires. | Following 16 trips to the country and a 2004 geophysical survey that will, he hopes, corroborate witness testimony about when, how and where the planes were hidden, he is now on the verge of a discovery that could double the worldwide population of airworthy Spitfires. |
| Although caution was the watchword at a press conference at the Imperial War Museum on Wednesday, Cundall appears pretty sure that he has finally found his planes. And he – like his backer, the online military gaming company Wargaming.net – is looking forward to the day when the Spitfires might once again take to the skies. | Although caution was the watchword at a press conference at the Imperial War Museum on Wednesday, Cundall appears pretty sure that he has finally found his planes. And he – like his backer, the online military gaming company Wargaming.net – is looking forward to the day when the Spitfires might once again take to the skies. |
| "They're buried at eight, nine, 10 metres, and there's no oxygen down there, so we don't think they've corroded," he said. Wargaming's CEO, Victor Kislyi, who has sunk around £1m into the project, describes the enterprise as "one of the last great adventures". Kislyi is bankrolling Cundall as part of his company's drive to ensure authenticity in its games and to build educational and cultural partnerships with museums and military heritage organisations. And, says Kisyli, the publicity generated by his involvement probably won't hurt either. | "They're buried at eight, nine, 10 metres, and there's no oxygen down there, so we don't think they've corroded," he said. Wargaming's CEO, Victor Kislyi, who has sunk around £1m into the project, describes the enterprise as "one of the last great adventures". Kislyi is bankrolling Cundall as part of his company's drive to ensure authenticity in its games and to build educational and cultural partnerships with museums and military heritage organisations. And, says Kisyli, the publicity generated by his involvement probably won't hurt either. |
| "Hopefully we'll be able to go there, find the site, do surveys and dig for the treasure," he said. "That sounds like Indiana Jones to me. So if this quest is fruitful, we hope that we will see a squadron of Spitfires flying over London one more time." | "Hopefully we'll be able to go there, find the site, do surveys and dig for the treasure," he said. "That sounds like Indiana Jones to me. So if this quest is fruitful, we hope that we will see a squadron of Spitfires flying over London one more time." |
| The eventual fate of the planes remains unclear, but Cundall, who will get a 30% share, has promised to bring his Spitfires back to the UK and also hopes to see them fly after their long hibernation; 20% will go to his agents, while the Burmese government is entitled to half the planes, and will likely put them up for sale. | The eventual fate of the planes remains unclear, but Cundall, who will get a 30% share, has promised to bring his Spitfires back to the UK and also hopes to see them fly after their long hibernation; 20% will go to his agents, while the Burmese government is entitled to half the planes, and will likely put them up for sale. |
| One man refusing to take anything for granted is the project's lead archaeologist, Andy Brockman. He said that while the team – which also comprises Dr Roger Clark, a senior lecturer in geophysics at the University of Leeds and Dr Adam Booth of Imperial College London, who carried out the 2004 survey – is "absolutely sure" they are digging in the right place, there was, as yet, no physical evidence from the site. | One man refusing to take anything for granted is the project's lead archaeologist, Andy Brockman. He said that while the team – which also comprises Dr Roger Clark, a senior lecturer in geophysics at the University of Leeds and Dr Adam Booth of Imperial College London, who carried out the 2004 survey – is "absolutely sure" they are digging in the right place, there was, as yet, no physical evidence from the site. |
| "Consider this a police procedural," he said. "We've got a crime scene. We've got a missing person. We've got a lot of evidence. And we may even have one or two suspects. But at the moment, we're deep into a very complex investigation … [And] you wouldn't ask the lead officer on a murder investigation who the murderer was on day one." | "Consider this a police procedural," he said. "We've got a crime scene. We've got a missing person. We've got a lot of evidence. And we may even have one or two suspects. But at the moment, we're deep into a very complex investigation … [And] you wouldn't ask the lead officer on a murder investigation who the murderer was on day one." |
| Sarah Quill, whose late father, Jeffrey, was one of the Spitfire's test pilots, said he would have been amazed and excited by the possibility of so many planes lying undiscovered for so long. The UK's enduring love affair with the Spitfire, she added, was probably down to two things. | Sarah Quill, whose late father, Jeffrey, was one of the Spitfire's test pilots, said he would have been amazed and excited by the possibility of so many planes lying undiscovered for so long. The UK's enduring love affair with the Spitfire, she added, was probably down to two things. |
| "I think it's partly its beauty, isn't it?" she said. "My father also said that the Battle of Britain was such a public affair in the sense that it was flown over Kent and Sussex that the outline of the Spitfire became immensely familiar to people who actually watched the battle in the sky." | "I think it's partly its beauty, isn't it?" she said. "My father also said that the Battle of Britain was such a public affair in the sense that it was flown over Kent and Sussex that the outline of the Spitfire became immensely familiar to people who actually watched the battle in the sky." |
| Cundall, an individual described by those who know and admire him as a man in thrall to his obsession, is certainly as bewitched now by RJ Mitchell's fighter as he has ever been. | Cundall, an individual described by those who know and admire him as a man in thrall to his obsession, is certainly as bewitched now by RJ Mitchell's fighter as he has ever been. |
| Asked what has driven him to spend his life hunting planes from the frozen corners of England to the boiling fields of Burma, he had a simple answer. | Asked what has driven him to spend his life hunting planes from the frozen corners of England to the boiling fields of Burma, he had a simple answer. |
| "That aeroplane there," he said, pointing to the Spitfire that hangs from the museum's roof. "The marriage between the Merlin engine and the aeroplane fuselage was perfect. It saved our necks in the second world war, especially in the Battle of Britain and although it was built as a tool of war, I'm trying to use it as a tool of friendship to bring Burma and the UK closer together." | "That aeroplane there," he said, pointing to the Spitfire that hangs from the museum's roof. "The marriage between the Merlin engine and the aeroplane fuselage was perfect. It saved our necks in the second world war, especially in the Battle of Britain and although it was built as a tool of war, I'm trying to use it as a tool of friendship to bring Burma and the UK closer together." |
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