The expression, "He got the whole nine yards!" comes from these guys.
The machine guns on the old bombers ran on ammo belts
that were approximately 9 yards long.
Hmmmm. Let's do some chit house math and figure it out: what are those? .50 cal? 9 yards equals 27 feet, 12 inches to the foot, 1/2" equals .50 cal....324 x 2 = 648. But, the 50 cal is a bottle neck, with the body of the shell wider than the bullet, so...600 rounds, thereabouts?
I always wondered about that. Look at the old B-17’s. They literally bristled with machine guns. In large squadrons you’d think they could throw up a wall of lead that nothing could get through. How in blazes could the enemy planes wreak such devastating losses on them?
Welp... here’s how: this is what goes on in making a hit on attacking enemy aircraft.
You have at most, a few seconds. While you’re firing, he is too.
If he hits, you or your squaddies turn into
a red mist and pudding.
No pressure. You got this.
Where did these men get their courage?
Thanks Glen! That was great!
ReplyDeleteI cannot imagine thinking on my feet as quickly as that would require.
Nope on this "whole nine yards" story. Many different origins, none have been proven original.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-whole-nine-yards.html