T
he Myanmar Defence Services Muse-
um is a massive complex of display
buildings a few miles outside the new
capitalofNaypyidaw.Openedon18
March 2012, it is probably the largest muse-
um complex in the world. Set in more than
600 acres (243 hectares), it covers all as-
pectsofthearmedforces,aswellasmuchof
the military’s involvement in shaping the
infrastructure of the country, and even do-
mestic manufacturing industries ranging
from prefabricated houses to soccer balls!
ATigerMothisondisplayinthelargeen-
trancehallsoftheAirForcesection,witha
de Havilland Vampire in another large hall,
and several gliders, together with a Thrush
Commander (used for eradicating drug pro-
ducers’ poppy fields), in another.
Sadly,themajorityoftheaircraftareex-
hibited outside. There is plenty of space in
the modern display halls where many could
be kept, so let’s hope they move some of the
rarer aircraft inside soon. Much of the col-
lection was previously inside a building in
the old capital of Yangon before the move to
Naypyidaw.
The outside display does improve things
for photography, however, and the aircraft
are kept in reasonable condition as there
was much cleaning and repainting under-
wayatthetime.
The highlights of the collection are most-
ly aircraft supplied by the British in the im-
mediate post-war period when Burma, as it
was then, gained independence. These air-
craftincludeaSpitfireandSeafire,Hawker
Sea Fury, Percival Provost, Chipmunk and
anAuster.Manyofthetypesthathave
served with the Air Force are on display, in-
cluding the Chinese-built Shenyang F-6
(MiG-19) and F-7 (MiG-21), and the rare
Chinese-designed Nanchang A-5, of which
a small number are still in service.
Nigel HitchmanTreasures of
Myanmar
Supermarine Spitire LF.IXe UB421. Three Spitires were
transferred from the RAF in 1947. Another thirty were bought
from Israel in 1953. A small number were sold in the USA in 1999.74 | FLIGHTPATH