In a message dated 5/29/06 10:02:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> > The real reason is that the DoD has a side business of > supplying out-of-service military hardware - including > communications gear - to our less well endowed allies. > I agree with Phil's take on military surplus, and would add one more factor: the way WW2 ended. THe Manhattan Project was so secret that even VP Harry Truman did not know of its existence until FDR died. Even then, there was no guarantee of success. Allied military planning had long assumed that complete invasion and collapse of the Axis countries would be needed for victory. So enormous quantities of war materiel were produced. That turned out to be true in Europe, but with the sudden end of the war in September 1945, and the rapid demobilization that followed, there was a tremendous amount of equipment in the supply pipeline that suddenly became surplus. Due to its relatively high value and relatively small size, radio and electronic surplus was very popular. The pile was so big it took decades to use up. IMHO. A bit OT, but appropriate for (traditional) Memorial Day, I think. 73 de Jim, N2EY _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
