The Buried Spitfires of Burma: A ‘Fake’ History

Rumours of buried Spitfires from the Second World War have spread around the world for seventy-five years, fuelling dreams of treasure hunting and watching the iconic aircraft fly again. In April 2012, the press reported that British Prime Minister David Cameron had negotiated an agreement with Myanmar President Thein Sein for the recovery and repatriation of twenty crated Spitfires, reportedly buried at RAF Mingaladon, Yangon, after the Second World War. Astonishingly the agreement came about through the single-minded determination of an ordinary Lincolnshire farmer, David Cundall. After months of negotiation, in January 2013 the excavation begins. Armed with a high-tech survey showing mysterious shapes under the sun-baked surface of Yangon International Airport, David's expedition is equipped with state-of-the-art JCB excavators, led by a team of archaeologists, and supported by Wargaming.net. Nothing can stop him from recovering the iconic aircraft because, as David tells the world's media, 'it's impossible to make up this story'. But instead of Spitfires, the team unearths a tale of fake history, highlighting the conflict between those want to believe legends and those who demand evidence and the truth. The Buried Spitfires of Burma explores what happened next as David Cundall's dream unravelled over the course of a historical 'whodunnit' that spans seven decades and three continents. In so doing, it follows one of the most bizarre, colourful, and off-the-wall stories since the sensational Hitler Diaries hoax astonished the world in 1983.