Editing Reconstruction Finance Corporation (section)

===World War II aircraft disposal===
[[File:Kingmanaaf-storage.jpg|thumb|Acres of World War II aircraft in storage, awaiting their fate at Kingman, 1946]]
After the war, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation established five large storage, sales, and scrapping centers for [[Army Air Forces]] aircraft at the [[Albuquerque Army Air Base|Albuquerque AAF]], [[New Mexico]]; [[Altus AFB|Altus AAF]], [[Oklahoma]]; [[Kingman Airport (Arizona)#World War II aircraft disposal|Kingman AAF]], [[Arizona]]; [[Ontario Air National Guard Station#Ontario Army Air Field|Ontario Army Air Field]], [[California]]; and [[Marine Corps Air Facility Walnut Ridge#RFC Walnut Ridge|Walnut Ridge AAF]], [[Arkansas]].

Estimates of the number of surplus airplanes ran as high as 150,000. By the summer of 1945, at least 30 sales-storage depots and 23 sales centers were in operation. In November 1945, it was estimated that a total of 117,210 aircraft would be transferred as surplus. Many thousands ended up sold or gifted by the US military to the air forces of friendly allies around the globe.

Between 1945 and June 1947, the RFC, the War Assets Corporation, and the War Assets Administration (the disposal function of the RFC was transferred to WAC on January 15, 1946, and to the WAA in March 1946) processed approximately 61,600 remaining World War II aircraft,  Some 34,700 “utility“ type were sold for primarily commercial purposes, and 26,900 primarily combat types auctioned for scrapping.

Most of the transports and trainers could be used in the civil fleet, with trainers disposed of for US$875 to US$2,400. The fighters and bombers were of little peacetime value, with a smattering being sold for conversions to useful civilian purposes like [[aerial firefighting]] (a mere handful survived such second careers to be preserved as [[warbird]]s preservation and exhibits in [[aviation museum]]s).