Hey guys ... Been riding the boredom train today known as the CV-19 express . So after a bit of thought, I decided to post some “ Bargain Basement “ information that many of my friends on the other side of the ocean may not be aware of, regarding discounted military clothing . So ... before I begin,its story time and I’ll be brief, but as you’ll see it will tie in nicely with the information that I’m about to share with all of you.
As a child growing up in an area of Philadelphia known as South Philadelphia in the early 1950s . My mother was a sewing machine operator at a well known US Government installation named the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot. Sometimes in the early morning hours my Dad would take me and my mom and drive to the front gate of that location and drop her off to begin her work day. She would sit at a heavy duty sewing machine for 10 hours a day, sewing cargo pockets onto M-42 Paratrooper Pants . She worked there from about 1942 until about 1955, during both WWII and the Korean War. Now as collectors of military jackets and clothing, you guys may not have known that about 50% of the military clothing made during those wars came from the Philadelphia Quartermasters Depot. If you’d like to fact check me on that, simply look at any WWII or Korean War clothing you have with a label, or look at some of your repro stuff with a label and most likely you will see at the bottom of that label “Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot”.
Here’s a photo of the front gate back in the early days,
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Well long after all of the wars ended and many of the machine operators were let go due to decreased production demands, the Philadelphia Quartermasters Depot slowly closed down. After a few years it subsequently had a name change and the complex moved to another area of Philadelphia and was known as the “Defense Supply Center Philadelphia “ or the DSCP . Ok so this is where some of you guys may or may not be familiar with the DSCP.
They stock goods and all types of clothing and military gear at that location . Occasionally when the military no longer needs items stocked there, sales of surplus clothing material and field gear are offered up for sale at really great prices . Surplus buyers bid on quantities of those goods and once they acquire them , put them up for resale at fairly cheap prices on various sites. One of those locations where you can purchase some of this stuff is on EBay . For example, I wanted a USN Watch Sweater , also known as a GOB sweater . Well I went on EBay and punched into the search section “ DSCP Sweaters “ and I found a current USN issued Watch (GOB) Sweater for $19.95 Buy It Now. . So here it is :
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Ok so now here’s where the cost comparison comes in . If you chaps are interested in a USN Watch (GOB) Sweater, like this from one of the top tier makers over in the UK ... who shall remain nameless
, you will have to cough up about 129 BPS for a well made repro . So with a little basic math conversion , that’s about $170.00 US vs .$19.95 for a current day original USN sweater
Savings= $150.05.
Now keep in mind that there are all types of sweaters as well as other types of clothing available , made for the US military at low discounted prices . So have a look and decide for yourself . It’s your money ....... It’s your call!
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