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Otter 277 was delivered to the Union of Burma Air Force on 9th December 1958 with serial UB653. It was one of three Otters delivered that month (273, 274 and 277), all three being packed into crates and shipped to Burma, where they were re-assembled and entered service. A further six Otters were delivered in 1960/61. Burma was subsequently re-named Myanmar. Its Air Force aircraft were re-serialled, adopting Burmese numerals, equivalent of the old serial with a '4' prefix and deleting the UB. Thus, UB653 became 4653, depicted on the side of the aircraft in Burmese numerals.
The Burmese Otters remained in service until replaced by Pilatus Porters, at which stage the Otters were placed in storage. One had been written off and the remainder were eventually sold, apart from 4653 which was retained for a museum. It remained in storage until 1995 when the Defence Services Museum at Mingaladon Air Base, Yangon (formerly Rangoon) was opened. Included in the exhibits there is Otter 277, displayed in its original marks as UB653.
During 2010 a new Defence Services Museum was constructed at NAYPYITAW, the new capital of Myanmar, some 200 miles north of Yangon. The aircraft were trucked to the new Museum, which opened in March 2012, where Otter UB 653 is now on display.
Full history up to 2005 courtesy of Karl E Hayes © from DHC-3 Otter - A History (CD-ROM 2005)
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