RANGOON—As many as 140 World War II Spitfire fighter
planes—three to four times the number of airworthy models known
to exist—are believed to be buried in near-pristine condition in
Burma. A British-Burmese partnership says it will begin digging
them up by the end of the month. The go-ahead for excavation
came earlier this week when the Naypyidaw government signed an
agreement with British aviation enthusiast David J. Cundall and
his local partner. Cundall, a farmer and businessman, earlier
this year announced he had located 20 of the planes, best known
for helping the Royal Air Force win mastery of the skies during
the Battle of Britain. On Thursday, however, a retired Burmese
geology professor who has assisted in the recovery operation
since 1999 said there are around 140 Spitfires buried in various
places around the Southeast Asian country, which until 1948 was
a British colony. He did not explain the discrepancy in
estimates. Soe Thein said the British brought crates of
Spitfires to Burma in the closing s