Spitfires Sprouting in the Burmese Spring: The Real-life Quest for Historic Fantasy Aircraft in Contemporary Myanmar
Jane Ferguson
In 2013, a group of British aviation archaeologists began excavating in Myanmar in search of some 140 mint-condition crated Royal Air Force (RAF) Spitfire Mk XIV aircraft. According to their story, at the end of the Second World War, Allied forces in Burma were left with these unassembled aircraft. Without the funds to send them home, but unwilling to let the planes fall into enemy hands, they buried the crated planes in Mingaladon, Meiktila and Myitkyina. Like legends of pirate treasure, the story of these buried Spitfires carries with it fantastic aura and intrigue. For aviation fans, the pirate's gold is an iconic aircraft, meaningful in patriotic narratives for its role in the Battle of Britain. This paper will discuss this story as a form of military history folklore which is stoked by the orientalist perception that Burma/Myanmar's decades of military regimes and purported isolation indirectly 'preserved the crated aircraft in time. As this paper will demonstrate, Burmese and others in Southeast Asia have their own legends of buried war materiel and treasure. This point, though largely lost on British aviation enthusiasts in their quest for their Spitfire 'holy grail', nevertheless crucially enabled their quest to manifest itself.
TRaNS: Trans-Regional and National Studies of Southeast Asia
https://doi.org/10.1017/trn.2019.11
10.1017/trn.2019.11
Dive into the research topics of 'Spitfires Sprouting in the Burmese Spring: The Real-life Quest for Historic Fantasy Aircraft in Contemporary Myanmar'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Burma Arts & Humanities 100%
Real Life Arts & Humanities 76%
Aircraft Arts & Humanities 76%
Spring Arts & Humanities 73%
Aviation Arts & Humanities 65%
Fantasy Arts & Humanities 64%
Historic Arts & Humanities 60%
Pirates Arts & Humanities 45%
Ferguson, J. (2020). Spitfires Sprouting in the Burmese Spring: The Real-life Quest for Historic Fantasy Aircraft in Contemporary Myanmar. TRaNS: Trans-Regional and National Studies of Southeast Asia, 8(2), 135-146. https://doi.org/10.1017/trn.2019.11
Ferguson, Jane. / Spitfires Sprouting in the Burmese Spring: The Real-life Quest for Historic Fantasy Aircraft in Contemporary Myanmar. In: TRaNS: Trans-Regional and National Studies of Southeast Asia. 2020 ; Vol. 8, No. 2. pp. 135-146.
@article{d42d0d0599b540f59ff0f1b13fdd2b6f,
title = "Spitfires Sprouting in the Burmese Spring: The Real-life Quest for Historic Fantasy Aircraft in Contemporary Myanmar",
abstract = "In 2013, a group of British aviation archaeologists began excavating in Myanmar in search of some 140 mint-condition crated Royal Air Force (RAF) Spitfire Mk XIV aircraft. According to their story, at the end of the Second World War, Allied forces in Burma were left with these unassembled aircraft. Without the funds to send them home, but unwilling to let the planes fall into enemy hands, they buried the crated planes in Mingaladon, Meiktila and Myitkyina. Like legends of pirate treasure, the story of these buried Spitfires carries with it fantastic aura and intrigue. For aviation fans, the pirate's gold is an iconic aircraft, meaningful in patriotic narratives for its role in the Battle of Britain. This paper will discuss this story as a form of military history folklore which is stoked by the orientalist perception that Burma/Myanmar's decades of military regimes and purported isolation indirectly 'preserved the crated aircraft in time. As this paper will demonstrate, Burmese and others in Southeast Asia have their own legends of buried war materiel and treasure. This point, though largely lost on British aviation enthusiasts in their quest for their Spitfire 'holy grail', nevertheless crucially enabled their quest to manifest itself.",
author = "Jane Ferguson",
doi = "10.1017/trn.2019.11",
journal = "TRaNS: Trans-Regional and National Studies of Southeast Asia",
Ferguson, J 2020, 'Spitfires Sprouting in the Burmese Spring: The Real-life Quest for Historic Fantasy Aircraft in Contemporary Myanmar', TRaNS: Trans-Regional and National Studies of Southeast Asia, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 135-146. https://doi.org/10.1017/trn.2019.11
Spitfires Sprouting in the Burmese Spring: The Real-life Quest for Historic Fantasy Aircraft in Contemporary Myanmar. / Ferguson, Jane.
In: TRaNS: Trans-Regional and National Studies of Southeast Asia, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2020, p. 135-146.
T1 - Spitfires Sprouting in the Burmese Spring: The Real-life Quest for Historic Fantasy Aircraft in Contemporary Myanmar
AU - Ferguson, Jane
N2 - In 2013, a group of British aviation archaeologists began excavating in Myanmar in search of some 140 mint-condition crated Royal Air Force (RAF) Spitfire Mk XIV aircraft. According to their story, at the end of the Second World War, Allied forces in Burma were left with these unassembled aircraft. Without the funds to send them home, but unwilling to let the planes fall into enemy hands, they buried the crated planes in Mingaladon, Meiktila and Myitkyina. Like legends of pirate treasure, the story of these buried Spitfires carries with it fantastic aura and intrigue. For aviation fans, the pirate's gold is an iconic aircraft, meaningful in patriotic narratives for its role in the Battle of Britain. This paper will discuss this story as a form of military history folklore which is stoked by the orientalist perception that Burma/Myanmar's decades of military regimes and purported isolation indirectly 'preserved the crated aircraft in time. As this paper will demonstrate, Burmese and others in Southeast Asia have their own legends of buried war materiel and treasure. This point, though largely lost on British aviation enthusiasts in their quest for their Spitfire 'holy grail', nevertheless crucially enabled their quest to manifest itself.
AB - In 2013, a group of British aviation archaeologists began excavating in Myanmar in search of some 140 mint-condition crated Royal Air Force (RAF) Spitfire Mk XIV aircraft. According to their story, at the end of the Second World War, Allied forces in Burma were left with these unassembled aircraft. Without the funds to send them home, but unwilling to let the planes fall into enemy hands, they buried the crated planes in Mingaladon, Meiktila and Myitkyina. Like legends of pirate treasure, the story of these buried Spitfires carries with it fantastic aura and intrigue. For aviation fans, the pirate's gold is an iconic aircraft, meaningful in patriotic narratives for its role in the Battle of Britain. This paper will discuss this story as a form of military history folklore which is stoked by the orientalist perception that Burma/Myanmar's decades of military regimes and purported isolation indirectly 'preserved the crated aircraft in time. As this paper will demonstrate, Burmese and others in Southeast Asia have their own legends of buried war materiel and treasure. This point, though largely lost on British aviation enthusiasts in their quest for their Spitfire 'holy grail', nevertheless crucially enabled their quest to manifest itself.
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DO - 10.1017/trn.2019.11
JO - TRaNS: Trans-Regional and National Studies of Southeast Asia
JF - TRaNS: Trans-Regional and National Studies of Southeast Asia
Ferguson J. Spitfires Sprouting in the Burmese Spring: The Real-life Quest for Historic Fantasy Aircraft in Contemporary Myanmar. TRaNS: Trans-Regional and National Studies of Southeast Asia. 2020;8(2):135-146. https://doi.org/10.1017/trn.2019.11