"Whole nine yards" : some negative evidence [addendum]

[Dave Hause]

I second Wilson's note on the logistics from the perspective of the
assistant gunner on a machine gun team from which the ammo bearer had
deserted on pre-deployment leave, leaving me with two 200-round cans of 7.62
mm ammo in addition to the other impedimenta.  I have three .50 cal ammo
cans, two marked as containing 100 rounds of blanks, the third 85 rounds of
linked 1/5 tracer;  they are about 6 x 8 x 10" and probably weigh 30-40
pounds filled with smaller ammunition (less lead.)  Of course, the .50 cal.
machine gun wasn't usually carried around by the infantry when I was doing
that, so a team could have been significantly larger than the three on a
medium machine gun (as I remember, the gun weighs around 110 pounds and the
tripod is probably another 50.)
Dave Hause, dwhause at jobe.net
Ft. Leonard Wood, MO
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wilson Gray" <wilson.gray at RCN.COM>
...
Then there's the problem of logistics. I was the ammunition-bearer for
a machine-gun crew. As such, I can testify that it would take Superman
to carry with one hand a single ammo cannister containing nine yards of
steel belting filled with many pounds of lead-and-brass cartridges,
each in turn filled with gunpowder. An ammo-bearer is expected to carry
at least two cans of ammo for the machine gun. And that would be in
addition to the 300 rounds of unbelted rifle ammo for his own use, his
full field pack, grenades, etc. It just couldn't be done, if there was
a standard length for an ammo belt of nine yards.