[Milsurplus] Rare sets taken apart?

[Hue Miller]

The SCR-284-T4 by Philco is apparently SN 13. So where did the 
other ones go?  Another set, Navy MBM, i am only aware of 3
surfacing, yet we have serial numbers up to 50. Are there others 
still to come out of the closets and attics, or were the postwar
hobbyists so thorough in taking stuff apart, that the attrition rate
is really high?
Not that this applies to all sets like the above, but i am now recalling
the Navy vet who told me, "When we got newer equipment, the TCHs
were taken apart by (Navy) electronics class students for learning. 
I wanted to keep one instead, so that's how I got it."
 -Hue Miller