DEFENCE SERVICES MUSEUM MYANMAR AIR FORCE

In July 2016 I visited this excellent museum. It is situated near the newly built capital of Myanmar, called Nay Pyi Taw (also written as one word, Naypyitaw). In 2005 the military regime decided to relocate the capital from Yangon tot this remote village, about 240 miles north of Yangon and to built a complete new town. As a result, the defence services museum also had to move from Yangon tot this area.

Travelling tot his museum is an adventure. Most people will enter Myanmar through the international airport of Yangon. But from there you need 5 to 6 hours by car to reach the museum. Do not rent a car and drive yourself; you will never find your way and moreover traffic in Myanmar has no rules. As a result it is chaotic. Try to find a car with a driver; is is not expensive (drivers earn about 5 dollar a day) and people are most friendly and helpful. Unfortuanately most of them don’t speak a word of English.

The museum is difficult to find. When you enter Nay Pyi Taw, coming from the highway, you first see a big number of newly built mammoth hotels. They look like Disney-world hotels. We counted for more than 50 (!!). But: rooms are normally good and not expensive. From the hotel-area you need at least another 50 minutes by car to reach the museum. The military area where the defence academy and the museum can be found, is far outside Nay Pyi Taw, near a small village called Zeyathiri, north of the capital. When you notice a big, very big football stadium in the middle of nowhere, you know that you reached your destination.

You can also go to Nay Pyi Taw by plane; nowadays there is a domestic flight now and then from Yangon to the airport of this capital.

The museum is open from Tuesday till Sunday (Mondays closed) from 10.00 AM to 04.00 PM. But: the museum is situated on a military compound, which is not free accessible. So you first need to have permission; your name has to be on the list at the barrack’s gate! Easiest way to get permission is to book your car, driver and hotel at a travel agency (I booked with Adventure Myanmar, excellent), and ask them to arrange the permission. My advice is to do this some weeks before the start of your trip. I did not need permission for making photos.

When the permission is right, you have signed the guestbook and your car is inspected, you get a tag and you can drive on the barrack grounds to the outdoor exposition, where 24 aircraft and 9 helicopters can be found. They are all in an excellent condition and painted in their original colours; as far as we could see they also have their original codes. There is one helicopter row and two rows of aircraft. Photographic conditions are very good. But be aware that, especially in the rainy season, you have a good chance for a shower, as you can see on my pictures.

After the outdoor exposition, the indoor exposition is well worth a visit. There are three buildings, about 500 meters from the outdoor show, one for the air force, one for the army and one for the navy. Due to lack of time I only visited the air force building. Inside you find a Tiger Moth, a Vampire T55 and the tail of a shot-down Sea Fury (crashed 15 February 1961). Moreover a number of photos is interesting for registration-spotters: long rows of MIG-29, F-7M, T-33 and MI-35. And: visit the air force film in the cinema. Again you see lots of Myanmar AF aircraft!

In summary: this is the most interesting military aviation museum I ever visited, for me even better than the Chinese museum in Datangshan. Aircraft of the Myanmar air force are rare, they have an operational look, is is not a crowded museum (mostly you are all alone) and photographic conditions are excellent. The only downsides: difficult to find the museum and to get permission to enter!