Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Share #1 Posted February 10, 2013 This is a find I made about 15 years ago & is one I remember fondly. I had made contact with the owner of a warehouse, his family had been in the military surplus business since the 1940's. It was a large warehouse and packed with surplus from WWII through modern day, although most of it was post WWII. What was from WWII had been in storage there since the end of the war. For me to go through this warehouse with the prospect of finding stuff shelved since the 1940's was exciting to say the least. The days when WWII era items were regarded as surplus is way before my time. The owner of the warehouse gave me a shopping cart and sent me on my way . The shelves were full of cases and boxes of all sorts of stuff, most of which was not overly exciting, for example I found cases of unissued WWII M1 dust respirators, a box full of unissued USN leather talker helmet chinstraps still bundled from the factory & piles of training gas mask bags. I also found stacks of unissued WWI .45 mag pouches but the owner wanted $10 per piece and that was full retail. These were all cool finds but I soon figured out I was not walking out of there with cases of unissued M3 trench knives & M42 jump jackets. I did manage to find some interesting things, I bought in bulk for resale and at prices to die for. I also kept some examples for my collection, here are a few photos of what came out of that warehouse. I posted this in the uniforms section as the majority of it is uniform related but there is some field gear as well. Thanks for checking it out! Rob WWII Medical Department hospital robe: I bought a few dozen of these robes, all of them were unissued. I also bought some unissued Korean War dated robes that were lighter blue with different markings (I think with a caduceus on the upper pocket) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #2 Posted February 10, 2013 Pocket detail........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #3 Posted February 10, 2013 Tag dated July 3, 1942.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #4 Posted February 10, 2013 WWI long underwear: I found a box with about a dozen pair of long underwear. They were unissued but had heavy age stains. I managed to pull out one that was in pretty good shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #5 Posted February 10, 2013 Date stamped 4/2/18, size 42................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #6 Posted February 10, 2013 Inspectors stamp......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #7 Posted February 10, 2013 WWII M1943 Shovel covers: I bought a large stack of unissued shovel covers, I think at $3 each. They were all the 2nd pattern with adjustable hook positions on the reverse. Only one of the covers was the first pattern with fixed hook on the reverse, dated 1944. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #8 Posted February 10, 2013 Reverse...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #9 Posted February 10, 2013 WWII British made Officers web trouser belt with buckle: I came up with a box of 2 dozen of these belts, all unissued & still tied & bundled from the factory. They were all from the same company dated 1943 & 1944.........I kept one of each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #10 Posted February 10, 2013 Other side........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #11 Posted February 10, 2013 WWII U.S. Mail bag: Only found one of these in used condition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #12 Posted February 10, 2013 Stamped J.Q.M.D. 1942............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #13 Posted February 10, 2013 WWII low quarter shoes: Found a few dozen pairs of these, all unissued & some were still in the original shoe boxes. All of them were size 6A. These were $3.75 a pair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #14 Posted February 10, 2013 Date stamped Jan. 9, 1942.................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #15 Posted February 10, 2013 WWII USMC roughouts: Only found one pair of these unissued in a huge size 15FF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #16 Posted February 10, 2013 Dated June 12, 1943............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #17 Posted February 10, 2013 USMC inspectors stamp........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #18 Posted February 10, 2013 WWII athletic sneakers: I found a box with about a dozen mis matched pairs of these all unissued. I was able to put together a slightly mis matched pair from the same company, one is stamped a size 8 and the other a size 8 1/2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #19 Posted February 10, 2013 WWII U.S. Navy Waves white leather shoes: I found 4 or 5 unopened cases of these shoes, 4 per case in shoe boxes. These were priced at $20 per case. These did not fit in my collection so I did not keep an example but I still have one of the cases kicking around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capa Posted February 10, 2013 Share #20 Posted February 10, 2013 Unbelievable, but of course I do. An absolutely once-in-a-lifetime experience! Any photos of the warehouse iteself (on the inside that is). Great story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #21 Posted February 10, 2013 WWII M1923 cartridge belt: I found 3 stone mint unissued cartridge belts. The owner wanted $90 per belt (any piece of field gear that was khaki was not priced cheap). It was pricey but I bought the 3 belts and kept one for myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #22 Posted February 10, 2013 Marked HSCO 1943........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #23 Posted February 10, 2013 WWII 101st/82nd Airborne Ike jacket: Last but not least is this gem. He had racks of Ike jackets priced at $25 each. I went through all of them but they were all run of the mill & nothing special except for this one. Everything you see is original to the jacket with the exception of the jump wings (oval was there), CIB, PUC, & ribbon bar. I could clearly see the pin holes where this insignia once was and replaced them with originals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #24 Posted February 10, 2013 82nd patch............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share #25 Posted February 10, 2013 101st patch.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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