JollyPopper

My Feedback: (6)

This is totally unrelated to anything and has absolutely no relevance to RC. In another thread, someone talked about a squadron of Spitfires being found abandoned in a foreign country. I have wondered from time to time if anyone ever tried to put a figure on the equipment we have simply walked away from during and after our various wars around the world. Some of this stuff was new/unused, some used but perfectly functional. We just simply walked away from it for one reason or another. I wonder what the figure would be in today's money.

Hemikiller

My Feedback: (125)

The reasons were that it was no longer needed and it was cheaper to abandon it in place. They were simply tools to do a job, when that job was no longer there, the tools were discarded.

I have a friend with connections in the Luxembourg/Belgium region that dealt with unexploded ordinance. It gets turned up all the time by farmers, construction crews, etc. According to him and the photos I've seen, there are (or were as of 2000) huge warehouses filled with WWII era US military equipment.

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

I'll never forget the video of them dumping Hueys over the sides of ships as they pulled out of Vietnam. Just a drop in the bucket of the expense that war cost,,

DadsToysBG

My Feedback: (35)

My dad was on the invasion fleet going to Japan when the war ended. He told me you wouldn't believe the stuff they dropped in the ocean. Planes, tanks, food, guns everything on the way back to Pearl Harbor. Dennis

t_burley

My Feedback: (59)

check this out.......

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...9984890&type=3

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

Many a Corsair was pushed off the side of a carrier on the way back home. They were supposedly obsolete by then anyway.

David

outdoorhunting

WOW!!! Can you imagine at today's scap prices whatthese would be worth ? By the way, THANKS for the great pics Jollypopper !

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

I was on a ship in Manilla harbor when the war was over. It was a cargo ship loaded with jeeps and small boats.
We just gave the cargo to the Philippine government, loaded up the ship with cacao and headed back to the states.
On the way we dumped the guns and amo over the side. Some of that amo was 3" and 5" shells. I was happy no one dropped one on the deck.
I had found a box full of GI socks on the dock we were at in Manilla. I never had to wash my socks on the way home. I just would wear a pair then throw them over the side
I could have bought a Steerman Kadet for $500. It was brand new still in a crate.
Some guy bought a bunch of P-40's in Alaska and had them for sale at Seattle's Boeing field. I don't know if he sold any.

larry@coyotenet

My Feedback: (21)

A lot of what you've heard applies to equipment supplied to Britain and her commonwealth countries, Australia, Canada, etc. Under terms of the lend lease agreement (material in exchange for the right to construct bases on their soil) the equipment had to either be destroyed or returned at the end of the war. The cost of returning the equipment was prohibitive so much of it was dumped or buried, case in point the Spitfires. The other thing to consider is that many of the aircraft were obsoleted by the coming of jets so their value was basically nil. Aircraft dumped off of the carriers were considered worn out and of little value. Their value is high only in light of the passage of time. At the end of the war they had only scrap value. Many brand new planes were flown from the factory to the scrap yard because the aluminum was needed more than the plane!
Larry

DadsToysBG

My Feedback: (35)

The sad part was when Korea happened we needed all that stuff. the Corsair was in big demand and so were tanks. Dennis

sweatybetty

type this in google earth search box:       Davis-Monthan Air Force Base      there are quite a few planes there