A WWII RAF Spitfire was sold at auction in 2009 -- see previously -- and the winning bid was a cool £1,739,500.
But there may be more of them coming onto the market. A British farmer named David Cundall has been following up rumors for years about a bunch of Spitfires that were buried in Burma in 1945 by U.S. troops so they wouldn't be found by the Japanese. And he thinks he has found them.
See British Explorer Prepares To Dig Up 140 Mint Condition Spitfires That Were Buried In 1945. Excerpt:
The original find was thought to be about 20 planes, but updated estimates put that number at 140.
So as we wrote when Cundall announced his find, the Spitfires are buried in the original crates with their wings folded back along their bodies, covered in grease and wax paper. Their joints are even tarred and they're expected to be in pristine condition.
The Americans buried the planes, covered them with 40 feet of soil and assumed the British would be back later to dig them up and wipe them off, but the RAF never bothered.
The old war birds fell out of favor after the war, and only later did anyone realize the importance of saving them for their historical value. So in the U.S. groups like the CAF began preserving and putting on annual air shows with them. There must be similar groups in the U.K. If Mr. Cundall's find turns up a few Spitfires maybe one of CAF groups could bring some to the U.S. Now that would be an air show to see.
Updated: Roy Bishop told a great story in the comments below. That story is featured in a blog post of 11/25/12 -- see WWII story from the Battle of Britain.
THE SPITFIRE AS A BOY GOING TO SCHOOL IN NORTH LONDON IN THE 1940 WE HAD A SPITFIRE GO DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF BLACKSTOCK ROAD THE PILOT DID BAIL OUT AND LANDED ON THE ROOF DOWN THE ROAD FROM OUR HOUSE
JUST A WAR STORY R BISHOP
Posted by: ROY BISHOP | November 23, 2012 at 09:42 PM
Great story, R Bishop!
Posted by: Geo | November 24, 2012 at 05:50 AM
JUST LIKE TO UPDATE STORY IT WAS HAWKER HURRICANE
FOUND THAT OUT THE PILOT WAS RAY HOLMES THERE IS A
STORY ABOUT HOW HE SAVED BUCKINGHAM PLACE
WHEN DORNIER DO17 BOMBER WAS ABOUT TO BOMB LONDON
BUT HES MACHINE GUNS FAILED SO DECIDED RAM IT
SO AFTER ALL YEARS FOUND OUT THE STORY
SGT RAY HOLMES PASSED AWAY IN 205 AGE OF 90 YEARS
Posted by: ROY BISHOP | November 24, 2012 at 06:39 PM
Roy, thanks for that update!
The Hurricane was a very good plane, perhaps with the exception of Mr. Holmes' machine gun failure.
That's a great story! Thanks for sharing it with us!
Posted by: Geo | November 25, 2012 at 05:51 AM