Oshinsky describes the nickname "Tail-Gunner Joe" as the result of McCarthy's wish to break the record for most live ammunition discharged in a single mission.
Oshinsky, David M. (2005) [1983]. A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy. Oxford University Press. стр. 32. ISBN978-0-19-515424-5.
Phillips 2001, стр. 65. Phillips, Steve (2001). Martin Collier, Erica Lewis, ур. The Cold War. Heinemann Advanced History. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers. ISBN978-0-435-32736-1.