[Milsurplus] Re: surplus ships fleet

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On 2/24/06, Hue Miller <kargo_cult at msn.com> wrote:

> I would sure like to know the truth about this issue of government -
> industry
> agreements. One veteran told me, "And that was because the manufacturers
> had an agreement with the government, this stuff would not show up on the
> market back in the USA."  I have long figured this just as a  myth, but  i
> may
> be wrong.

Hue -

The professor who told me about the new Hallicrafters receivers being
crushed and jackets being burned eluded to this. While he didn't site
a specific contract or agreement, when I asked him why he replied that
they weren't allowed to bring it back and offer it on the open market
as it would flood the market with cheap stuff and hose the economy.
Big no-no.

> Also this topic has me wondering about this: was there an identical wastage
> situation
> in the European theater? I am tending to think not: there were maybe US
> allies
> eager to take up US military equipment for their own militaries ( France,
> Italy?
> Greece?? ).

Again, I can only offer accounts related and no hard proof, but I was
told that a lot of aircraft were left behind and smelted there because
of the surplus issues as well as many of them being too war-weary to
return. Seeing pictures of the nose art on many in the boneyards here
after the war seems to contradict the last part, but maybe not. I
wonder when Greece acquired that LST that was retreived and restored a
few years back? Was that a post-war deal, or later? One would have to
think that a good deal of gear also stayed in place when the commies
tipped their hands and we saw what was coming down the pike.

I always get a kick out of the stories that trickle out from time to
time of surplus stashes being found. Unissued weapons, radios,
aircraft parts, and so on. Or the occasional vehicle or aircraft that
turns up in some farmer's barn. It makes me wonder what's waiting to
be discovered in the future.

de Todd/'Boomer'  KA1KAQ