The Whole Nine Yards

The Whole Nine Yards-Aces In Action: The Workshop of Artist Craig Tinder

27-feet was the standard .50 caliber belt used by American fighters and bombers in World War II. By firing an entire belt length of ammunition at an enemy, it was said he had given the adversary "the whole nine yards". On American bomber aircraft such as the B-17 Flying Fortress or B-24 Liberator, that 9-yards of ammunition would have travelled through this type of belt feed to create a smooth transfer from the ammunition crate into the Browning M2 .50 Caliber Machine Gun.

B-24 Waist Gunners

M2 Browning .50 Caliber Machine Gun Belt