wrote:
Boy, the word "surplus" brings back memories. When I was growing

up

in Detroit ('50's-'60's) there was a huge store in town called

"Gell's

Civilian PX". Anything - and I mean *anything* - ever made for or

used

by the military could be found there for amazing prices. More than

one

buddy of mine had a SW receiver that was military surplus - heavy,

dark,

muscular-looking cabinets with huge dials. Then, almost overnight it


seems, the "Military Surplus Store" was a thing of the past, for the
most part. There is one near me right now. Canteen covers and
post-Desert Storm polyester field jackets is about the extent of the
true "military surplus" they have.

Tony



So, why did the real military surplus stores disappear? I'd think that
the military has just as much, if not more, aging items it could sell
off. What happened?

Steve



I think the main part of the reason - not all of it - is this:

There are many reasons we eventually won WWII. The one least
discussed or understood is possibly the single most important one: We
OUT-SUPPLIED the Axis to death! We had, in effect, zero war production
on Dec 8, 1941. In a superhuman effort, we had tied all axis countries
combined by late 1943, and in 1944/early 45, we *really* took off.
Remember, even the big brass thought we would have to invade mainland
Japan to end the war, and that would have been a *massive* undertaking.
Supplies were manufactured with that in mind.

Then, suddenly, it was over, and untold millions of tons of rapidly
obsolescing equipment was left. Consider thousands of surplus stores
all over the USA, and the governmet "attic" kept them supplied until it
all ran out (something like 20 years or more). By that time, they'd
changed the rules, and actual war material production was a fraction of
what it was in 1945, and you are left with what passes for "surplus"
stores today.

As I said, that's not all of it, but it's a lot of it.

Tony


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