[Lang]

Mike

Depends what you call "large scale". Lot of jeep in a box mythology surrounds these stories.

There were certainly a lot of private small item deals carried out (particularly when Australian soldiers had a beer ration and officers a spirit ration when nearby American units were dry)

There is nothing to support stories of dozens or even hundreds, according to the teller, of vehicles being "borrowed".

Every vehicle had an owner and even the Americans had to account for each one. They had been transported at huge cost and risk of life to the front. For an officer to write off a vehicle when it had been sold/traded/given away was a criminal offence and would only have been done if there was a really good reason or if something of real value was received in return. Most of these deals were done on a local semi-official basis. "You need one of our tip trucks and we need one of your graders"

Of course theft was a major problem (drilling numbers into bodies etc was some defence) and on all major bases there was a punishment camp with many offenders on their way home to serve prison time before a dishonorable discharge.

Lang