Buried Spitfires theory shot down as nothing is found

A HUNT for dozens of Second World War Spitfires thought to have been buried in the Burmese jungle has proved fruitless.

Last month, archaeologists spent nearly two weeks trying to unearth unassembled aircraft which they believed were packed into crates and buried by the RAF in 1945. But they failed to find any Spitfires at RAF Mingaladon, now Yangon International Airport.

Some 36 planes were thought to be lying undiscovered in Mingaladon – one of three potential locations in the country – with as many as 124 buried in total.

But Wargaming Ltd, which was funding the project, yesterday said it believe no Spitfires were delivered in crates and buried at RAF Mingaladon during 1945 and 1946.

The company said that archival records showed that the RAF unit that handled shipments through Rangoon docks only received 37 aircraft in total from three transport ships between 1945 and 1946.

None of the crates contained Spitfires and most appear to have been re-exported in the autumn of 1946, they said.

Evidence also pointed to appalling weather conditions at Mingaladon around the time meaning it would have been impossible for the RAF to bury aircraft 30ft deep in wooden crates, according to Wargaming.