As a teen, I heard a WW II B-17 mechanic with the Eighth Air Force in England tell of removing an unexploded German anti-aircraft rocket from the wing of a B-17. With repairs, the B-17 returned to service. A year later, back in the states after the end of the war, he saw the same bomber as one of hundreds in a field waiting to be broken up.
When they were breaking up all the B-17s and fighters, you could buy a surplus P-51 with a spare engine and a a tank of avgas for $2500. A B-17 was $5000.