Charles Carpenter (Lt. Col.)
Encyclopedia
Lt. Col. Charles Carpenter, aka Bazooka Charlie, aka The Mad Major (b. 1913 - d. 1966) was a U.S. Army officer and army observation pilot who served in World War II. He is best remembered for destroying several enemy tanks and armored vehicles in his bazooka
-equipped L-4 Grasshopper light observation aircraft.
in southern Rock Island County. After graduation from Rock Island High School
and Centre College
in Danville, Kentucky
, Carpenter took a job teaching history at Moline High School
in Moline, Illinois
. Settling in Moline, Carpenter soon married; he and his wife Elda had one child, Carol.
Promoted to the rank of major in 1944, Carpenter was assigned to combat duty in France with the 1st Bombardment Division
. Upon arrival he was assigned an L-4H and assigned to fly artillery support and reconnaissance missions in support of the U.S. 4th Armored Division, part of General George S. Patton
's U.S. Third Army. The Piper L-4H was a military version of the Piper J-3 Cub, a small fabric-covered, unarmored two-seat aircraft with a fixed-pitch propeller and a 65 hp Continental O-170-3
engine. One of the few distinguishing differences to the L-4H was the addition of additional plexiglass windows to increase visibility for the pilot and observer. With a 150-pound pilot and no radio aboard, the L-4H had a combined cargo and passenger weight capacity of approximately 232 pounds.
By the time of the Allied siege of Lorient
and the encirclement of German forces around that city, Carpenter had grown increasingly frustrated at his inability to attack German armor on those occasions when Allied artillery or tactical aircraft were either out of range or were engaged in other combat missions. Inspired by other L-4 pilots who had installed bazookas as anti-tank armament on their planes, and with the assistance of an Ordnance technician as well as support from the Ninth Air Force Service Command, Carpenter first attached two M1 rocket launchers (bazookas) to the underwing struts of his L-4H, which he named Rosie the Rocketeer. After some experimenting, Carpenter would later add two more rocket launchers, then two more for a total of six bazookas, three on each side. The M1 bazooka or rocket launcher itself was a solid, one-piece metal tube 54 inches (137 cm) long, and weighing slightly more than 13 pounds (5.9 kilograms). Carpenter's original armament of six M1 bazookas each fired a single M6 anti-tank rocket by means of a battery igniter and a toggle-lanyard control operated from the cockpit. The M6 rocket's HEAT
warhead could penetrate approximately three inches (76 mm) of armor at a 30° impact angle. While the M1/M1A1 rocket launcher was initially less than successful when employed by infantry against the frontal armor of German tanks, Carpenter found that using the weapon as an airborne armament was fairly effective at immobilizing a German tank with any solid hit against the thinner armor protecting the top of the turret or the hull superstructure, even against such heavy tanks as the Tiger I. Although the M6 rocket had a theoretical range of 500 yards (457 m), Carpenter preferred to fire his rockets at a range of 100 yards (91 m) or less, adjusting the angle and bore-sighting of the launcher tubes so that when his L-4H was aligned with an enemy vehicle in a shallow dive, the rockets would strike the target. Thus armed, Carpenter began attacking German armored forces.
Major Carpenter flew most of his ground attack missions alone, as the additional weight of an extra passenger greatly limited his L-4 Cub's speed and maneuverability when fitted with bazookas. On those occasions when he took along an extra passenger, Carpenter found that he was forced to fire his rockets from a considerably higher altitude to avoid enemy counterfire, which resulted in fewer hits owing to the effects of wind and range estimation. When attacking, Carpenter's usual routine was to spot his target at altitude, then spiral down before diving suddenly towards the enemy tank or other objective. Complete destruction of the enemy tank was not necessary; if the tank was set ablaze, or simply immobilized due to engine, track, or turret damage, the panzer crew generally abandoned the vehicle. Within a few weeks, Carpenter was credited with knocking out a German armored car and four tanks, including two Tiger I
s. Known as "Bazooka Charlie" or "The Mad Major" by those in his unit, Carpenter's exploits were soon featured in numerous press accounts, including Stars and Stripes, the Associated Press
, Popular Science
, the New York Sun
, and Liberty Magazine.
In addition to flying ground attack and observation missions, Major Carpenter served as the personal pilot for U.S. Army General John S. Wood, the commanding general of the U.S. 4th Armored Division. His duties as personal pilot, along with his comparatively elevated service rank (for an artillery liaison pilot) of major, allowed Carpenter to evade most artillery-spotting missions, thus giving him more time to devote to his own private war with German armored units.
Carpenter took part in ground combat as well. On one occasion near Avranches
, Carpenter was scouting advance landing fields in a jeep when German forces attacked his position. Climbing aboard a Sherman tank, Carpenter took charge of a .50-caliber machine gun, while calling for troops around him to attack. Led by tank fire from Carpenter's Sherman, the American forces drove attacking German forces back. Carpenter's Sherman eventually ran into friendly forces, and accidentally fired on a Sherman bulldozer tank, blowing off the dozer blade. As a result of this friendly fire incident, Carpenter was placed under arrest and threatened with a firing squad until his commanding general came to his assistance. Told to expect a court-martial for his actions at Avranches, the decision to discipline Carpenter was reversed by General Patton himself, who not only stopped the court-martial proceedings but awarded the major the Silver Star for bravery. Carpenter, Patton said, was the "kind of fighting man he wanted in his army."
During the 1944 Allied offensive in France, Major Carpenter continually improved the armament on Rosie the Rocketeer, eventually installing six improved type M9 bazookas using the new M6A3 HEAT rocket, which could penetrate 3.9 inches (99 mm) of armor plate at a 30° impact angle. Even the heaviest German tanks such as the Pzkpf Tiger Ausf. B
or Tiger II used thinner armor on the tops of their turrets and hull superstructure, which the M6A3 bazooka rocket warhead could easily penetrate. As before, a battery of three M9 launchers was installed side-by-side on each underwing strut of his L-4, with an overall weight (when loaded with rockets) of some 106 pounds, not counting the weight of the mounting brackets and firing controls. By using an electrical firing mechanism connected to pushbutton controls on a cockpit-mounted panel, Carpenter could fire his six rockets either individually or salvo all six at one time. He once told a reporter that his idea of fighting a war was to "attack, attack and then attack again."
Initially, Carpenter faced little return ground fire on his missions. German forces were normally reluctant to fire on the L-4 and similar light planes without offensive armament, as doing so would give away their position and cause the plane's occupants to call in artillery fire or fighter-bomber support. Moreover, as long as the pilot, gas tank or engine was not hit, most small arms fire would not bring down an L-4, since the plane had such a light wing loading (an excess of wing and control surface area for its weight) of 7.5 pounds per square foot. However, as Carpenter's bazooka attacks became more well known, German ground fire increased in intensity. Even German infantry would join in, attempting to down Carpenter's L-4 with rifles and machine pistols. On one mission, as Carpenter banked steeply around a tall tree in order to get a bazooka shot at a German tank, German infantrymen opened up on him with machine pistols, forcing him to turn for cover behind another tree before escaping with several 9mm bullet holes in one wing. Carpenter told a Stars and Stripes correspondent that the "word must be getting around to watch out for Cubs with bazookas on them. Everytime I show up now they shoot with everything they have. They never used to bother Cubs. Bazookas must be bothering them a bit."
One of Carpenter's longest missions occurred on September 20, 1944 during the Battle of Arracourt
near Nancy, France, when German armored forces launched a sudden tank attack on the headquarters component of the 4th Armored Division's Combat Command A, in the process trapping or pinning down several 4th AD support units. Major Carpenter took to the air with his armed L-4, but owing to a heavy fog which obscured the ground below him, was unable to locate the enemy. Around noon, the fog began to lift, and Carpenter spotted a company of German Panther tank
s and armored cars advancing towards Arracourt. Diving through a barrage of German ground fire in a continuing series of attacks against the German formation, Carpenter fired all of his bazooka rockets. Returning to base to reload, Carpenter flew two more sorties that afternoon, firing no less than sixteen bazooka rockets at the advancing enemy. Rosie the Rocketeer was later credited with immobilizing two German tanks and several armored cars, while killing or wounding a dozen or more enemy soldiers. Carpenter's attacks also forced the remaining Panther tanks in the formation to retreat, in the process enabling a trapped 4th Armored water point support crew, who had witnessed Carpenter's actions that day, to escape capture and destruction. "Some people around here think I'm nuts," Major Carpenter was quoted as saying, "but I just believe that if we're going to fight a war we have to get on with it sixty minutes an hour and twenty-four hours a day."
The Associated Press reporter Wes Gallagher, in a 1945 article in Liberty Magazine, concluded that the major was "a legend in an outfit where reckless bravery is commonplace." By war's end, Major Carpenter had destroyed several German armored cars and knocked out 14 German tanks (he would be officially credited with six tanks destroyed, including two Tiger I tanks), and had also participated in several ground combat actions. Never having received as much as a scratch from enemy fire, he acquired still another nickname, "The Lucky Major". In recognition of his achievements, Carpenter was promoted to lieutenant colonel and awarded the Silver Star
with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star, and the Air Medal
with Oak Leaf Cluster.
. Informed by army doctors that he had two years at most to live, Carpenter was honorably discharged from U.S. Army service in 1946. He returned to work as a history teacher at Urbana High School
in Urbana, Illinois
, where he worked until his death in 1966 at the age of 53. Lt. Col Carpenter is buried at Edgington Cemetery, in Illinois.
Bazooka
Bazooka is the common name for a man-portable recoilless rocket antitank weapon, widely fielded by the U.S. Army. Also referred to as the "Stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was amongst the first-generation of rocket propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat...
-equipped L-4 Grasshopper light observation aircraft.
Early life and career
Carpenter was born and raised in the town of Edgington, IllinoisEdgington, Illinois
Edgington is an unincorporated community in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. Edgington is located on Illinois Route 192 southwest of Andalusia. Edgington is home to Rockridge Junior High School and Rockridge Senior High School....
in southern Rock Island County. After graduation from Rock Island High School
Rock Island High School
Rock Island High School, also known as "Rocky", is a public four-year high school located in Rock Island, Illinois, USA. Rocky is within the Rock Island-Milan School District No. 41, and the school colors are crimson and gold.-Technology:...
and Centre College
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, USA, a community of approximately 16,000 in Boyle County south of Lexington, KY. Centre is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution. Centre was founded by Presbyterian leaders, with whom it maintains a loose...
in Danville, Kentucky
Danville, Kentucky
Danville is a city in and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 16,218 at the 2010 census.Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Boyle and Lincoln counties....
, Carpenter took a job teaching history at Moline High School
Moline High School
Moline High School, or Moline, is a public four-year high school located in Moline, Illinois, a city in Rock Island County, in the United States...
in Moline, Illinois
Moline, Illinois
Moline is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, with a population of 45,792 in 2010. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The Quad Cities has a population of...
. Settling in Moline, Carpenter soon married; he and his wife Elda had one child, Carol.
World War II Service
Carpenter joined the Army in 1942 and was commissioned a second lieutenant. After completing flight training and receiving his artillery liaison wings, Carpenter flew light observation aircraft such as the L-4 Grasshopper (Piper Cub) and the Stinson L-5 Sentinel. He accumulated considerable flight time while flying training missions in artillery spotting and enemy reconnaissance and observation.Promoted to the rank of major in 1944, Carpenter was assigned to combat duty in France with the 1st Bombardment Division
1st Strategic Aerospace Division
The 1st Strategic Aerospace Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Fifteenth Air Force, being stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California...
. Upon arrival he was assigned an L-4H and assigned to fly artillery support and reconnaissance missions in support of the U.S. 4th Armored Division, part of General George S. Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
's U.S. Third Army. The Piper L-4H was a military version of the Piper J-3 Cub, a small fabric-covered, unarmored two-seat aircraft with a fixed-pitch propeller and a 65 hp Continental O-170-3
Continental O-170
|-See also:-References:*Christy, Joe: Engines for Homebuilt Aircraft & Ultralights, pages 43-52. TAB Books, 1983. ISBN 0830623477...
engine. One of the few distinguishing differences to the L-4H was the addition of additional plexiglass windows to increase visibility for the pilot and observer. With a 150-pound pilot and no radio aboard, the L-4H had a combined cargo and passenger weight capacity of approximately 232 pounds.
By the time of the Allied siege of Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
and the encirclement of German forces around that city, Carpenter had grown increasingly frustrated at his inability to attack German armor on those occasions when Allied artillery or tactical aircraft were either out of range or were engaged in other combat missions. Inspired by other L-4 pilots who had installed bazookas as anti-tank armament on their planes, and with the assistance of an Ordnance technician as well as support from the Ninth Air Force Service Command, Carpenter first attached two M1 rocket launchers (bazookas) to the underwing struts of his L-4H, which he named Rosie the Rocketeer. After some experimenting, Carpenter would later add two more rocket launchers, then two more for a total of six bazookas, three on each side. The M1 bazooka or rocket launcher itself was a solid, one-piece metal tube 54 inches (137 cm) long, and weighing slightly more than 13 pounds (5.9 kilograms). Carpenter's original armament of six M1 bazookas each fired a single M6 anti-tank rocket by means of a battery igniter and a toggle-lanyard control operated from the cockpit. The M6 rocket's HEAT
Heat
In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...
warhead could penetrate approximately three inches (76 mm) of armor at a 30° impact angle. While the M1/M1A1 rocket launcher was initially less than successful when employed by infantry against the frontal armor of German tanks, Carpenter found that using the weapon as an airborne armament was fairly effective at immobilizing a German tank with any solid hit against the thinner armor protecting the top of the turret or the hull superstructure, even against such heavy tanks as the Tiger I. Although the M6 rocket had a theoretical range of 500 yards (457 m), Carpenter preferred to fire his rockets at a range of 100 yards (91 m) or less, adjusting the angle and bore-sighting of the launcher tubes so that when his L-4H was aligned with an enemy vehicle in a shallow dive, the rockets would strike the target. Thus armed, Carpenter began attacking German armored forces.
Major Carpenter flew most of his ground attack missions alone, as the additional weight of an extra passenger greatly limited his L-4 Cub's speed and maneuverability when fitted with bazookas. On those occasions when he took along an extra passenger, Carpenter found that he was forced to fire his rockets from a considerably higher altitude to avoid enemy counterfire, which resulted in fewer hits owing to the effects of wind and range estimation. When attacking, Carpenter's usual routine was to spot his target at altitude, then spiral down before diving suddenly towards the enemy tank or other objective. Complete destruction of the enemy tank was not necessary; if the tank was set ablaze, or simply immobilized due to engine, track, or turret damage, the panzer crew generally abandoned the vehicle. Within a few weeks, Carpenter was credited with knocking out a German armored car and four tanks, including two Tiger I
Tiger I
Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...
s. Known as "Bazooka Charlie" or "The Mad Major" by those in his unit, Carpenter's exploits were soon featured in numerous press accounts, including Stars and Stripes, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, Popular Science
Popular Science
Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...
, the New York Sun
New York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...
, and Liberty Magazine.
In addition to flying ground attack and observation missions, Major Carpenter served as the personal pilot for U.S. Army General John S. Wood, the commanding general of the U.S. 4th Armored Division. His duties as personal pilot, along with his comparatively elevated service rank (for an artillery liaison pilot) of major, allowed Carpenter to evade most artillery-spotting missions, thus giving him more time to devote to his own private war with German armored units.
Carpenter took part in ground combat as well. On one occasion near Avranches
Avranches
Avranches is a commune in the Manche department in the Basse-Normandie region in north-western France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called Avranchinais.-History:...
, Carpenter was scouting advance landing fields in a jeep when German forces attacked his position. Climbing aboard a Sherman tank, Carpenter took charge of a .50-caliber machine gun, while calling for troops around him to attack. Led by tank fire from Carpenter's Sherman, the American forces drove attacking German forces back. Carpenter's Sherman eventually ran into friendly forces, and accidentally fired on a Sherman bulldozer tank, blowing off the dozer blade. As a result of this friendly fire incident, Carpenter was placed under arrest and threatened with a firing squad until his commanding general came to his assistance. Told to expect a court-martial for his actions at Avranches, the decision to discipline Carpenter was reversed by General Patton himself, who not only stopped the court-martial proceedings but awarded the major the Silver Star for bravery. Carpenter, Patton said, was the "kind of fighting man he wanted in his army."
During the 1944 Allied offensive in France, Major Carpenter continually improved the armament on Rosie the Rocketeer, eventually installing six improved type M9 bazookas using the new M6A3 HEAT rocket, which could penetrate 3.9 inches (99 mm) of armor plate at a 30° impact angle. Even the heaviest German tanks such as the Pzkpf Tiger Ausf. B
Tiger II
Tiger II is the common name of a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B,Panzerkampfwagen – abbr: Pz. or Pz.Kfw. Ausführung – abbr: Ausf. .The full titles Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf...
or Tiger II used thinner armor on the tops of their turrets and hull superstructure, which the M6A3 bazooka rocket warhead could easily penetrate. As before, a battery of three M9 launchers was installed side-by-side on each underwing strut of his L-4, with an overall weight (when loaded with rockets) of some 106 pounds, not counting the weight of the mounting brackets and firing controls. By using an electrical firing mechanism connected to pushbutton controls on a cockpit-mounted panel, Carpenter could fire his six rockets either individually or salvo all six at one time. He once told a reporter that his idea of fighting a war was to "attack, attack and then attack again."
Initially, Carpenter faced little return ground fire on his missions. German forces were normally reluctant to fire on the L-4 and similar light planes without offensive armament, as doing so would give away their position and cause the plane's occupants to call in artillery fire or fighter-bomber support. Moreover, as long as the pilot, gas tank or engine was not hit, most small arms fire would not bring down an L-4, since the plane had such a light wing loading (an excess of wing and control surface area for its weight) of 7.5 pounds per square foot. However, as Carpenter's bazooka attacks became more well known, German ground fire increased in intensity. Even German infantry would join in, attempting to down Carpenter's L-4 with rifles and machine pistols. On one mission, as Carpenter banked steeply around a tall tree in order to get a bazooka shot at a German tank, German infantrymen opened up on him with machine pistols, forcing him to turn for cover behind another tree before escaping with several 9mm bullet holes in one wing. Carpenter told a Stars and Stripes correspondent that the "word must be getting around to watch out for Cubs with bazookas on them. Everytime I show up now they shoot with everything they have. They never used to bother Cubs. Bazookas must be bothering them a bit."
One of Carpenter's longest missions occurred on September 20, 1944 during the Battle of Arracourt
Battle of Arracourt
The Battle of Arracourt was a battle between U.S. and German armored forces during World War II near the town of Arracourt, Lorraine, France, from 18-29 September 1944. As part of a counteroffensive against recent U.S. advances in France, the German 5th Panzer Army had as its objective the...
near Nancy, France, when German armored forces launched a sudden tank attack on the headquarters component of the 4th Armored Division's Combat Command A, in the process trapping or pinning down several 4th AD support units. Major Carpenter took to the air with his armed L-4, but owing to a heavy fog which obscured the ground below him, was unable to locate the enemy. Around noon, the fog began to lift, and Carpenter spotted a company of German Panther tank
Panther tank
Panther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as...
s and armored cars advancing towards Arracourt. Diving through a barrage of German ground fire in a continuing series of attacks against the German formation, Carpenter fired all of his bazooka rockets. Returning to base to reload, Carpenter flew two more sorties that afternoon, firing no less than sixteen bazooka rockets at the advancing enemy. Rosie the Rocketeer was later credited with immobilizing two German tanks and several armored cars, while killing or wounding a dozen or more enemy soldiers. Carpenter's attacks also forced the remaining Panther tanks in the formation to retreat, in the process enabling a trapped 4th Armored water point support crew, who had witnessed Carpenter's actions that day, to escape capture and destruction. "Some people around here think I'm nuts," Major Carpenter was quoted as saying, "but I just believe that if we're going to fight a war we have to get on with it sixty minutes an hour and twenty-four hours a day."
The Associated Press reporter Wes Gallagher, in a 1945 article in Liberty Magazine, concluded that the major was "a legend in an outfit where reckless bravery is commonplace." By war's end, Major Carpenter had destroyed several German armored cars and knocked out 14 German tanks (he would be officially credited with six tanks destroyed, including two Tiger I tanks), and had also participated in several ground combat actions. Never having received as much as a scratch from enemy fire, he acquired still another nickname, "The Lucky Major". In recognition of his achievements, Carpenter was promoted to lieutenant colonel and awarded the Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star, and the Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
with Oak Leaf Cluster.
Postwar Service
In 1945, Carpenter became seriously ill, and he was eventually diagnosed with Hodgkins DiseaseHodgkin's lymphoma
Hodgkin's lymphoma, previously known as Hodgkin's disease, is a type of lymphoma, which is a cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes...
. Informed by army doctors that he had two years at most to live, Carpenter was honorably discharged from U.S. Army service in 1946. He returned to work as a history teacher at Urbana High School
Urbana High School (Illinois)
-History:Urbana High School's current building was built in 1914. It was designed by architect Joseph Royer who also designed many other area buildings such as the Urbana Free Library and the Champaign County Court House...
in Urbana, Illinois
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
, where he worked until his death in 1966 at the age of 53. Lt. Col Carpenter is buried at Edgington Cemetery, in Illinois.