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Burma Spitfire Dream Gets Rude Awakening

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Key Takeaways:

  • British farmer David Cundall's expedition to uncover over 100 World War II Spitfires in Myanmar failed to find any aircraft after a six-week excavation.
  • Funding for the project was subsequently cut off by sponsor Wargaming.net, who noted they had found no archival evidence supporting the buried Spitfire claims.
  • Cundall remains convinced the planes exist, believing they are in a different, currently inaccessible location near the modern airport runway, and plans to return if new digging permission is granted.
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British farmer and aviation enthusiast David Cundall was living out his dream of digging up more than 100 crated World War II Supermarine Spitfires, but that dream has turned to a nightmare. Funding for the expedition has been cut off after none of the aircraft were found buried near the runway of Myanmar’s (formerly Burma) Rangoon International Airport, which was a Royal Air Force base during the war.

Cundall was convinced the airplanes are there by interviews with several veterans who claimed to have seen them preserved and crated, then buried near the airport. Cundall still believes the fighters are there, now saying they must be much closer to the modern airport’s runway. The government will not allow him to dig there for fear of undermining the pavement.

Mark Phelps

Mark Phelps is a senior editor at AVweb. He is an instrument rated private pilot and former owner of a Grumman American AA1B and a V-tail Bonanza.

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