Spitfires to fly again?

[Graham Kennedy]

We all know that the Spitfire is one of the iconic aircraft of all time. Happily, I have seen one flying on several occasions, have some lovely pictures of them. But that its a rare thing indeed, because naturally after all this time there are very few flying Spitfires left in the world - from memory I believe there are five.

Well, here's the thing. In 1945 some Spitfire IIs were sent out to Burma. Near the end of World War II these planes were waxed, wrapped up in grease paper, and sealed with tar. Then they were buried. The location was lost to time, and nobody had any real idea where they are.

Until an enterprising individual named David Cundell decided to find them - and now, find them he has. They were almost brand new when they were buried and are almost perfectly preserved, by all accounts - they'll need some restoration work, but it should be relatively straightforward to get them back into flying condition.

All TWENTY of them.

David Cameron is supporting the effort, which intends to essentially create an entire squadron of flying Spitfires!

Source

This is absolutely AWESOME.

(Oh, turns out that it's 35 flying now, not five. But this is still awesome!)

[McAvoy]

Damn nice!

Definitely not making new ones from 1940's anymore. So finding 20 brand new ones is a huge victory for fans of Spitfires and WW2 aircraft.

[Tsukiyumi]

I'd love to fly one someday. I guess this just increased the chances of that happening by a small margin at least.

[Mikey]

Why are they so rare? Did Supermarine build extraordinarily small numbers? In the 'States, guys who maintain and fly P-51's, P-47's, etc. at fairs and such are relatively common.

[McAvoy]

I know that when a B-17 went down last year it was one of a handful left and the destruction of one was and still is a big hit to the aviation community.

I'd imagine between the wear and tear on many planes in combination of a lack of foresight, plus they were needed as scrap metal is the reason why there are so few.

I also have to question some planes are original or not. I know that nearly all WW1 era planes in existence today are reproductions.

On aside note, if I was a billionaire I would so want to own one. It will be my personal plane (fuck Lear jets) and it will go nicely with my USS New Jersey Battleship Yacht.

[Mikey]

I wasn't aware the the New Jersey was up for sale.

[McAvoy]

With enough money it would be.

[Sonic Glitch]

Rule of Acquisition number 98: Every man has his price.

[Captain Seafort]

Why are they so rare? Did Supermarine build extraordinarily small numbers? In the 'States, guys who maintain and fly P-51's, P-47's, etc. at fairs and such are relatively common.

On the contrary - more Spits were produced than any other western allied aircraft. We simply don't have the same warbird culture you do.

[McAvoy]

Or preserving ships like the US. We like to like collect warship museums.

The British should have kept the Warspite but then again we should have kept the Enterprise too.

[Mikey]

Or preserving ships like the US. We like to like collect warship museums.

The British should have kept the Warspite but then again we should have kept the Enterprise too.

HMS Warspite certainly had a record worthy of preserving her, but her end was ironic in a way that no museum could have been - both tugs slipped their tows when she was being taken to be scrapped; she dropped anchor in heavy seas, having suddenly been set adrift, but the anchor slipped; she ran aground, righted herself, then ran aground again, too badly damaging her hull to be re-floated. Enterprise would likewise have been nice, but how many decommissioned carrier-turned-museums can we have?

[Captain Seafort]

[HMS Warspite certainly had a record worthy of preserving her, but her end was ironic in a way that no museum could have been - both tugs slipped their tows when she was being taken to be scrapped

I'm not sure irony's the right word. "Appropriate", maybe, given the reason why she slipped that line - her rudder went hard over, for no apparent reason whatsoever, just as she'd be doing the same, on and off, for thirty years, ever since the hit she took at Windy Corner.

Enterprise would likewise have been nice, but how many decommissioned carrier-turned-museums can we have?

I've never understood the US obsession with random warships. You must have dozens of them, but the only two with the history to deserve it are Old Ironsides and Missouri. It would be worthwhile scrapping every other carrier you had, if it meant keeping Enterprise.

[Mikey]

her rudder went hard over, for no apparent reason whatsoever, just as she'd be doing the same, on and off, for thirty years, ever since the hit she took at Windy Corner.

I didn't know that. I knew one hawser simply broke and she slipped the other, but I didn't know why.

I've never understood the US obsession with random warships. You must have dozens of them, but the only two with the history to deserve it are Old Ironsides and Missouri. It would be worthwhile scrapping every other carrier you had, if it meant keeping Enterprise.

While the Enterprise CV-6 was the most decorated ship in the USN ever, the "Fighting I" wasn't without honors, notably Leyte Gulf and Vietnam. Further, she isn't remembered just for her wartime role, but for being a Mercury and Gemini recovery ship as well. The Intrepid museum isn't a museum dedicated to USN carriers; it's "The Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum." As to battleships, I'm not sure; certainly there's state pride at work in the usage of the USS New Jersey as a museum first in Bayonne, NJ and now in Camden, NJ; and the Mighty Mo's history speaks for itself as to being a museum piece at Pearl Harbor.

I have to say, though, if I were a Brit and had to choose one philosophy over the other - I'd rather have dozens of less-significant ships hanging around than to have scrapped Warspite.

[Captain Seafort]

*snip Intrepid's record*

Fair enough, three that deserve it - that's still a sight fewer than the dozens you've got.

As to battleships, I'm not sure; certainly there's state pride at work in the usage of the USS New Jersey as a museum first in Bayonne, NJ and now in Camden, NJ;

I'm sure there is, but simply sharing a name doesn't mean the ship's important enough to hang onto.

I have to say, though, if I were a Brit and had to choose one philosophy over the other - I'd rather have dozens of less-significant ships hanging around than to have scrapped Warspite.

The problem it's that both philosophies have failed - we're very picky about what we keep, and lost our greatest warship of the 20th century, you hang onto almost everything and lost your greatest warship of the 20th century. Given that, I'd rather fall back on the ship's equivalent of a decent human burial - scrap.

[McAvoy]

So... keeping ships as tourist attraction is a bad thing? Something that could be used to possibly bolster the local economy?

Besides the ships are kept for othe reasons. Nowadays it costs money to scrap ships as opposed to selling them for scrap. The US Navy has nothing to do with these ships once they became museum ships with the exception of the Iowa class battleships. However limitations placed on the museum ships were lifted about ten years ago. The cost to maintain these museum ships are from ticket sales, merchandise and donations.

50,000 tons of steel is useful but it isn't like we are hurting from a lack of steel right now.