Lt. Col. Charles "Bazooka Charlie" Carpenter (August 29, 1912 – March 22, 1966) was a United States Army officer and army observation pilot who served in World War II. He is most known for destroying several enemy armored vehicles in his bazooka-equipped L-4 Grasshopper light observation aircraft.[1]
Charles Carpenter | |
|---|---|
Charles Carpenter and his L-4 Grasshopper, Rosie the Rocketer, armed with two trios of bazookas mounted on the jury struts | |
| Born | August 29, 1912 |
| Died | March 22, 1966 (aged 53) |
| Occupation | Teacher |
| Military career | |
| Nickname(s) | Bazooka Charlie |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942–1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
Early life
editCarpenter was born in rural Illinois, one of six siblings: three boys and three girls. The family farm was lost during the Depression and Carpenter grew up in Reynolds, near the town of Edgington, Illinois. He was educated - on scholarships - at the Roosevelt Military Academy (RMA),[2] in Aledo, Illinois and at Centre College, in Danville, Kentucky.[3]
World War II service
editUpon arriving in France in 1944, Carpenter was assigned an L-4 Grasshopper for artillery spotter role and reconnaissance missions. Assuming a 150-pound (68 kg) pilot and no radio aboard, the L-4H had a remaining cargo or passenger weight capacity of approximately 232 pounds (105 kg).[4][5] The additional weight of radio and radio operator often exceeded this limit. Inspired by other L-4 pilots who had installed bazookas as anti-tank armament on their planes, Carpenter added bazooka launchers to his plane as well.[5][6][7]
Within a few weeks, on September 20, 1944, during the Battle of Arracourt, Carpenter was credited with knocking out a German armored car and four tanks.[7] Carpenter's plane, bearing USAAF serial number 43-30426, was known as Rosie the Rocketer (a play on Rosie the Riveter), and his exploits were soon featured in numerous press accounts, including Stars and Stripes, the Associated Press, Popular Science, the New York Sun, and Liberty magazine. Carpenter once told a reporter that his idea of fighting a war was to "attack, attack and then attack again."[8]
After destroying his fifth enemy tank, Carpenter told a Stars and Stripes correspondent that the "word must be getting around to watch out for Cubs with bazookas on them. Every time I show up now they shoot with everything they have. They never used to bother Cubs. Bazookas must be bothering them a bit."[9][10]
By war's end, Major Carpenter had destroyed or disabled several German armored cars and tanks (he was officially credited with six tanks destroyed).[7]
- Awards
Maj. Charles M. Carpenter wore 6 ribbons, which included:
- Silver Star
- Bronze Star medal
- Air Medal, with Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC)
- EAME: European Theater medal, with 4 campaign stars [Normandy(?), Northern France (?), Rhineland (?), Central Europe(?)]
- American Theater medal [for more than 1 year service in CONUS(?)]
Postwar service
editIn 1945, Carpenter became seriously ill and was diagnosed with Hodgkin disease. Doctors gave him 2 years to live. He received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army service in 1946. Thereafter, he returned to work as a history teacher at Urbana High School in Urbana, Illinois, where he worked and remained until his death in 1966 at the age of 53.[11]
Rosie the Rocketer
editIn October 2017, the actual L-4H that then-Major Carpenter had flown in World War II - s/n 43-30426 - was located at the Austrian Aviation Museum (German: Österreichisches Luftfahrtmuseum) at Graz Airport. It was acquired by the Collings Foundation and returned to its original World War II appearance, by a restorer in La Pine, Oregon.[12] The restoration was reported as complete on July 4, 2020[13] and the famous aircraft is now on public display, at the Collings Foundation's American Heritage Museum.
References
edit- ^ Gallagher, Wes, Charlie Fights Nazi Tanks in Cub Armed With Bazookas, The New York Sun, 2 October 1944
- ^ "Roosevelt Military Academy | Aledo, IL".
- ^ "Bazooka Charles Goes After Nazis". Lawrence Journal-World. Associated Press. 1944-10-03. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
- ^ Piper Cub Weight & Balance Calculation, retrieved 24 October 2011
- ^ a b Fountain, Paul, The Maytag Messerschmitts, Flying Magazine, March 1945, p. 90
- ^ Francis, Devon E., Mr. Piper and His Cubs, Iowa State University Press, ISBN 0-8138-1250-X, 9780813812502 (1973), p. 117
- ^ a b c What's New in Aviation: Piper Cub Tank Buster, Popular Science, Vol. 146 No. 2 (February 1945) p. 84
- ^ Gallagher, Wes, Major Charles Carpenter, Once History Teacher, Now Legend in Patton's Army, The Rock Island Argus, 26 September 1944
- ^ The Stars and Stripes, Western Europe ed., Nancy Sector (France), (September 20–30, 1944)
- ^ Bazooka Charlie Becomes Tank Ace Today, Prescott Evening Courier, 11 October 1944, p. 2, retrieved 23 February 2015 from Google Books
- ^ In Memoriam, Urbana High School Class of 1962, retrieved 23 October 2011
- ^ Hogan, Jackson (March 9, 2019). "La Pine man restoring plane flown by 'Bazooka Charlie' in World War II". bendbulletin.com. The Bulletin (Bend, OR). Retrieved May 13, 2019.
In 1944, U.S. Army pilot and artillery spotter [Major] Charles Carpenter was in France, fighting in the 4th Armored Division of Gen. George S. Patton's 3rd Army, when he had a crazy idea...Carpenter strapped three bazookas under each wing of his 1944 Piper L-4H, a frail reconnaissance plane not typically used for combat, flew over the German army and blasted multiple Panzer tanks and armored cars north of the town of Nancy. It earned him the nickname "Bazooka Charlie."...75 years later, the Piper L-4H — nicknamed "Rosie the Rocketer" — has found its way to a rural garage near La Pine, where it's being restored by a retired engineer.
- ^ Hogan, Jackson (July 4, 2020). "La Pine man completes restoration of legendary WWII plane". bendbulletin.com. The Bulletin (Bend, OR). Retrieved September 7, 2020.
After a year and a half of painstaking work, "Rosie The Rocketer," a WWII-era Piper L-4H airplane, has returned to its original 1944 condition, when it was outfitted with bazookas to blast Nazi tanks in France.