racing to the red light

This story was recently spotted by our Paris bureau chief. In Myanmar, it is said that in the waning days of the second World War, American army bulldozers buried dozens of brand-new British Spitfire fighter aircraft, packed in grease and wax paper from the factory, in their original shipping containers. This was done to prevent the fighters from falling into the possession if the advancing Japanese forces. The Japanese surrendered before they made their way up into this part of the world, but the British never showed up to reclaim their buried Spitfires. Over the past 20 years, a British farmer and businessman named David Cundall overheard the story from veterans, and went to Myanmar to pursue the buried aircraft. Using magnometers and ground-penetrating radar, he was able to locate the likely positions of several of the containers. Recent political happenings in Myanmar have paved the way for him to receive permission to excavate the airplanes. We will eagerly follow this developing story, and will hopefully have some pictures to share next month, when the digging is set to commence.