Charles Carpenter (lieutenant colonel)


Lt. Col. Charles "Bazooka Charlie" Carpenter was a U.S. Army officer and army observation pilot who served in World War II. He is best remembered for destroying several enemy armored vehicles in his bazooka-equipped L-4 Grasshopper light observation aircraft.

Early life and career

Carpenter was born and raised in the town of Edgington, Illinois. He graduated from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.

World War II service

Upon arriving in France in 1944, Carpenter was assigned an L-4 for artillery support and reconnaissance missions. With a 150-pound pilot and no radio aboard, the L-4H had a combined cargo and passenger weight capacity of approximately 232 pounds.
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.
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. Carpenter's plane, bearing USAAF s/n 43-30426, was known as Rosie the Rocketer, 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."
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 immobilized several German armored cars and tanks.

Postwar service

In 1945, Carpenter became seriously ill, and 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.

''Rosie the Rocketer''

In October 2017, the same L-4H that then-Major Carpenter had flown in World War II was located at the Österreichisches Luftfahrtmuseum aviation museum at Graz Airport, and was acquired by the Collings Foundation for restoration to its WW II appearance by a restorer in La Pine, Oregon.