UK archaeologists call off hunt for WWII Spitfires in Myanmar
18 Feb 2013 7:02 AM IST
UK archaeologists have called off a hunt for dozens of iconic World War II Supermarine Spitfires thought to have been buried in a jungle in Myanmar.
It was thought that as many as 124 Spitfires were buried by the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF) at the end of the war but they have now concluded it was a myth.
A dig at the international airport near the city of erstwhile Rangoon, which used to be RAF Mingaladon, has drawn a blank, the 'BBC News' reported.
The project was financed by Wargaming Ltd, who have said they believe the story about Spitfires being delivered in crates and then buried was not true.
‘No-one would have been more delighted than our team had we found Spitfires,’ Tracy Spaight, Wargaming's director of special projects, said.
‘We knew the risks going in, as our team had spent many weeks in the archives and had not found any evidence to support the claim of buried Spitfires.
‘Wargaming Ltd said they now believe no Spitfires were delivered in crates and buried at RAF Mingaladon during 1945 and 1946,’ said Spaight.
According to the company, archival records showed that the RAF unit that handled shipments through Rangoon (now Yangon) docks only received 37 aircraft in total from three transport ships between 1945 and 1946. Most of the Spitfires that were in Burma (now Myanmar) at the time appear to have been re-exported in the autumn of 1946, they said.
It was thought that as many as 124 Spitfires were buried by the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF) at the end of the war but they have now concluded it was a myth.
A dig at the international airport near the city of erstwhile Rangoon, which used to be RAF Mingaladon, has drawn a blank, the 'BBC News' reported.
The project was financed by Wargaming Ltd, who have said they believe the story about Spitfires being delivered in crates and then buried was not true.
‘No-one would have been more delighted than our team had we found Spitfires,’ Tracy Spaight, Wargaming's director of special projects, said.
‘We knew the risks going in, as our team had spent many weeks in the archives and had not found any evidence to support the claim of buried Spitfires.
‘Wargaming Ltd said they now believe no Spitfires were delivered in crates and buried at RAF Mingaladon during 1945 and 1946,’ said Spaight.
According to the company, archival records showed that the RAF unit that handled shipments through Rangoon (now Yangon) docks only received 37 aircraft in total from three transport ships between 1945 and 1946. Most of the Spitfires that were in Burma (now Myanmar) at the time appear to have been re-exported in the autumn of 1946, they said.
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