Lt. Col. Charles "Bazooka Charlie" Carpenter (August 29, 1912 – March 22, 1966) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

officer and army observation pilot who served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He is best remembered for destroying several enemy armored vehicles in his

bazooka Bazooka () is the common name for a Man-portable anti-tank systems, man-portable recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the ...

-equipped

L-4 Grasshopper The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is P ...

light observation aircraft.Gallagher, Wes, ''Charlie Fights Nazi Tanks in Cub Armed With Bazookas'', The New York Sun, 2 October 1944

Early life and career

Carpenter was born and raised in the town of

Edgington, Illinois Edgington is an unincorporated community in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. Edgington is located on Illinois Route 192, southwest of Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsul ...

. He graduated from

Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is ...

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes ...

World War II service

Upon arriving in France in 1944, Carpenter was assigned an L-4 Grasshopper for artillery spotter role and reconnaissance missions. Assuming a pilot and no radio aboard, the L-4H had a remaining cargo or passenger weight capacity of approximately .Fountain, Paul, ''The Maytag Messerschmitts'', Flying Magazine, March 1945, p. 90 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.Francis, Devon E., ''Mr. Piper and His Cubs'', Iowa State University Press, , 9780813812502 (1973), p. 117'' What's New in Aviation: Piper Cub Tank Buster'', Popular Science, Vol. 146 No. 2 (February 1945) p. 84 Within a few weeks, on September 20, 1944, during the

Battle of Arracourt The Battle of Arracourt took place between U.S. and German armoured forces near the town of Arracourt, Lorraine, France between 18 and 29 September 1944, during the Lorraine Campaign of World War II. As part of a counteroffensive against rec ...

, Carpenter was credited with knocking out a German armored car and four tanks. Carpenter's plane, bearing USAAF serial number 43-30426, was known as ''Rosie the Rocketer'' (a play on

Rosie the Riveter Rosie the Riveter is an allegorical cultural icon in the United States who represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new ...

), and his exploits were soon featured in numerous press accounts, including '' Stars and Stripes'', the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, ''

Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

'', the ''

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

'', and ''Liberty'' magazine. Carpenter once told a reporter that his idea of fighting a war was to "attack, attack and then attack again."Gallagher, Wes, ''Major Charles Carpenter, Once History Teacher, Now Legend in Patton's Army'', The Rock Island Argus, 26 September 1944 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." By war's end, Major Carpenter had destroyed or disabled several German armored cars and tanks (he was officially credited with six tanks destroyed).

Postwar service

In 1945, Carpenter became seriously ill and he was diagnosed with

Hodgkin disease Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition w ...

, and doctors gave him 2 years to live. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army service in 1946. He returned to work as a history teacher at Urbana High School in

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 38th-most pop ...

, where he worked and remained until his death in 1966 at the age of 53.

''Rosie the Rocketer''

In October 2017, the same L-4H that then-Major Carpenter had flown in World War II was located at the Austrian Aviation Museum (

german German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: ''Österreichisches Luftfahrtmuseum'') at

Graz Airport Graz Airport , known as ''Flughafen Graz'' in German, is a primary international airport serving southern Austria. It is located near Graz, the second-largest city in Austria, in the municipalities of Feldkirchen and Kalsdorf, south of Graz ci ...

, and was acquired by the

Collings Foundation The Collings Foundation is a private non-profit educational foundation located in Stow, Massachusetts, with a mission dedicated to the preservation and public display of transportation-related history, namely automobile and aviation history. The C ...

for restoration to its WWII appearance by a restorer in La Pine, Oregon, with the restoration reported as complete on July 4, 2020. The aircraft is now on public display at the Collings Foundation's

American Heritage Museum The American Heritage Museum is a military history museum located on the grounds of the Collings Foundation in the town of Stow, Massachusetts, west of Boston. The collection consists of over 100 artifacts, most of which were formerly part of ...

References

External links

YouTube video detailing the history of "Bazooka Charlie's" anti-tank endeavors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Charles 1912 births 1966 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Burials in Illinois Centre College alumni People from Rock Island County, Illinois Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army colonels United States Army aviators Military personnel from Illinois