[mass55th]

I heard today that planes in WWII with mounted guns, that the length of the ammo strip that got fed through them was 9 yards long. That is supposedly where the term “Give ‘em the whole 9 yards came from. Never heard that before.

[Track9]

I always thought it’s a full cement truck.

[oldvirginian]

“That is supposedly where the term “Give ‘em the whole 9 yards came from. Never heard that before.”

I’ve heard that also.
AND “balls to the wall” was from WW2 as well. The interiors of fighter planes weren’t built for creature comforts, the designers used the least amount of space possible to put a pilot in one. The RAF pilots swore you didn’t FLY a Spitfire, you WORE a Spitfire. So much so that when you opened up the engine to attack you literally used the heel of your hand to push the throttle forward until balls on the top of the linkage were firmly in contact with the forward wall of the pilots cabin.

[TexasGator]

“I heard today that planes in WWII with mounted guns, that the length of the ammo strip that got fed through them was 9 yards long. That is supposedly where the term “Give ‘em the whole 9 yards came from. Never heard that before.”

Use of the phrase documented back to 1855.

[Paal Gulli]

"I heard today that planes in WWII with mounted guns, that the length of the ammo strip that got fed through them was 9 yards long...."

There are 250 rounds in a can of linked ammunition for the Browning M2. Measured from primer to primer, each link is about an inch long. 250 inches is not quite seven yards.