John wrote:



It was common back then for military organizations to have only the best IBM typewriters built. In fact the US Goverment was about
the only organization that kept IBM in business back then.

You must be kidding, the military was one of IBM larger customers, but
they certainly were not the "only organization that kept IBM in business
back then." Compared to their overall customer base, the military would
be down the chart somewhat.

I doubt seriously that the military would have need for the high-end
Selectric Composer to crank out everyday memos.