Why are there so few aircraft remaining from World War II? Aircraft were built in quantities that are hard to comprehend, yet many models have vanished entirely.

WW2 ended in a period of hyper-rapid aircraft development. New high tech fighters and bombers were practically obsolete by the time they were deployed. A new front line fighter type could be expected to serve for only a few years before it was obsolete. Old planes were surplus, a drain on resources, and after a few years were hopelessly obsolete relics with no practical use. So they were sold off for scrap, for parts, or for conversion into racers. Modern planes last *a lot* longer as the pace of technology has slowed dramatically in the realm of aeronautics. While aircraft of the late 40s could be expected to serve for less than 10 years, the current backbone of the USAF fighter fleet, the F-15, has been flying since 1972. The B-52 has been in service for 60 years and shows no signs of being retired any time soon. So all those boneyards aren't full of obsolete junk. They're full of modern (or last generation) aircraft in storage.