The Buried Spitfires of Burma

This is the story of Lincolnshire farmer David Cundall's quixotic quest to unearth dozens of Spitfire fighters he believes were buried at the end of WWII. Armed with a high-tech survey showing mysterious shapes under the sunbaked surface of Yangon Airport, David's expedition is equipped with state of the art JCB excavators, supported by a crack team of archaeologists, and bankrolled 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." This real-life treasure hunt, an enthralling mix of Indiana Jones and Sherlock Holmes, took a team of researchers deep into Myanmar on a quest to find legendary Spitfires. But instead, the team unearths a tale of fake history highlighting the conflict between those want to believe and those who demand evidence. 20 colour and 2 b/w illustrations

ANDY BROCKMAN specialises in the archaeology of modern conflict and heritage crime. He has directed excavations on the Burma spitfires, a Home Guard training school, and a WW1 anti-aircraft gun site in London. A historical researcher for documentaries shown on Channel 5, Channel 4, the BBC and Time Team, he also owns and edits heritage current affairs website thePipeLine.Tracy Spaight is Director of Special Projects at Wargaming.net. He has developed interactive exhibits and augmented reality applications for museums, including an AR experience for the Kursk 75th anniversary, and the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland for the NMRN.

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.

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