“Bazooka Charlie”

[Louis]

Charles Carpenter (1912/1966) aka “Bazooka Charlie” was a WWII US army reconnaissance pilot who strapped bazookas to his observation plane, He is best remembered for destroying several enemy armored vehicles in his L-4 Grasshopper light aircraft.

In 1942, Charles Carpenter enlisted in the US Army. He was a commissioned second Lieutenant. His job was to fly light observation aircraft. Carpenter flew a light observation aircraft and accumulated substantial flight training to perform enemy surveillance and observation as well as artillery scouting missions, and more. One day, Carpenter noticed a pilot had put a bazooka on his plane for anti-tank fire. After receiving approval from his Command Headquarters, Carpenter placed two bazookas on the wings of his plane. He called his aircraft “Rosie The Rocketer.” He did some testing and eventually placed a total of six bazookas on his aircraft. He used a battery ignited toggle switch to fire them.

During the Battle of Arracourt, Sept 1944, Carpenter got into his aircraft and struggled to see the ground because the fog was heavy. Eventually, the fog cleared and Carpenter saw a company of Nazi armored cars and Panther tanks heading toward Arraourt. Facing a barrage of German infantry fire, Carpenter conducted several assaults against the Nazi formation. He emptied all of his bazooka tubes. Carpenter returned to his base and reloaded his plane two more times that day. During the battle, Carpenter fired 16 bazooka rockets at the enemy. He was able to immobilize two Panther tanks and several armored vehicles. The German tank formation had to eventually retreat. Carpenter's heroic actions made it possible for the pinned down units from the 4th Armored Division to escape being captured or killed.

By the end of war, Carpenter had destroyed numerous German armored cars as well as immobilized approximately 14 Nazi tanks. He was credited officially with completely destroying two Tiger 1 tanks among the six tanks he destroyed. Carpenter also participated in many ground combat actions. His rank was Major during the war, and he was often referred to as “The Lucky Major.” This is because he was never injured during the many times he was involved in combat. His bravery and dedication were recognized by the US Army. He was promoted to Lt Col. Carpenter was also awarded the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Clusters, the Bronze Star as well as the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster.

L-4 Grasshopper “Rosie The Rocketer”, today.​

 

[Bulletpoint]

I still think this guy and his exploits were mostly a propaganda stunt.

 

[Rico]

I still think this guy and his exploits were mostly a propaganda stunt.

I agree -- those claims are pretty far-fetched methinks.

 

[Abbasid111]

How did they verify all his claims?
I'm reminded of the real story behind the early US war quote "Sighted sub, sunk same"

 

[Bulletpoint]

By the end of war, Carpenter had destroyed numerous German armored cars as well as immobilized approximately 14 Nazi tanks. He was credited officially with completely destroying two Tiger 1 tanks among the six tanks he destroyed.

I mean look at this. The US had actual rocket armed warplanes that were designed, built, and flown by specialised and highly trained people. Still, their kill rate against tanks was tiny. But here comes this Gyro Gearloose guy flying in his small prop plane that he strapped a couple of bazookas to, and he takes out no fewer than six German tanks, including two Tigers. Forcing a whole German armoured force to retreat, saving an entire US division.

Apparently, Germans were unable to shoot him down at point blank range - bazookas have a range of about 160 metres and a Cub is a slow-moving airplane. While the German army was bristling with machineguns and vehicle mounted AA vehicles.

The whole story is just ludicrous. If it had been a German story about a guy called Fritz strapping some Panzerschrecks to his Storch plane and taking out 14 Shermans, we'd all be laughing at how silly Nazi propaganda was getting towards the end of the war...

Still a funny story though, and I guess that's why it keeps going around.

 

[Gunner]

Here's a little video.

One point I thought interesting is that the Germans initially didn't shoot at him because they didn't shoot at spotter planes for fear of giving away their positions.
I have read a few accounts that the Germans hated those planes because they knew if they were spotted they would be hit with accurate artillery fire.

 

[Bulletpoint]

Here's a little video.

Mark Felton is not a good source. He just repeats such old war legends uncritically, and I assume he does it because it earns him clicks and promotes his books.

In the Bazooka Charlie video, he hasn't listed any sources, and the story he tells is simply not credible. In the beginning, the Germans allegedly didn't shoot at 'Charlie' because they didn't want to give away their position. Alright, that might be somewhat believable for the first attack. But then the video claims he went back to base to reload and returned for several more attacks where the Germans did in fact shoot at him, causing him to fly "through a storm of lead" yet somehow without getting shot down or getting wounded.

We're not talking a fast moving and armoured fighter bomber engaging from long standoff distance. We're talking about an unarmoured and relatively slow-moving aircraft that attacks at a range of less than 160 metres.

Here's another example of Mark Felton repeating propaganda legends, and this time from the German side. The famous Barkmann's corner incident is retold by Felton as if he's merely recounting established facts, but the incident likely never happened.

Felton's source for the story is 'Panzers in Normandy: Then and Now' by Eric Lefevre, which Steven Zaloga has looked into and debunked.

 

[Louis]

- Charles Carpenter, lucky you are no longer here to read the comments. Keep resting in peace!.