Its September 1944
The Battle of Arracourt is underway.
The German 5th Panzer Army is up against the US 4th Armored division.
The Germans outnumber the American forces.
The US forces have the advantage of air superiority
but the German’s have better gun range.
Heavy fog has set in around the combatants and the playing field is level.
Under cover of the fog,
German Panthers have advanced towards the US headquarters
and have the Americans pinned down.
Taking off in his Piper L4–Grasshopper from a field nearby
is Major Charles Carpenter, an observation pilot.
The Grasshopper is a light aircraft made of Fabric over a steel frame
with a top speed of just 85 mph.
Essential to the push through Europe,
these spotters could see the hidden German armor
that laid frequently in ambush
causing havoc for the Allies as they pushed through France towards Germany
although today
the fog has prevented Charles too from seeing what is happening below.
Around noon,
the fog and low cloud that has been covering the battlefield starts to clear.
It’s at this moment through the mist
that Carpenter sees several German Panther tanks heading towards Arracourt!
Without hesitation,
Carpenter wheels his slow-moving bird around
and starts to dive towards the Germans below!
Charles’ actions will make him and his Grasshopper famous.
This isn’t just any Piper L4,
this grasshopper bites back.
Armed with 6 Bazookas, 3 under each wing
this little plane packs a punch and has been christened with the name
Rosie the Rocketer.
Back inside the cockpit, Charles is at the controls.
He’s added a special panel on the console
upon which there are 6 switches. One for each bazooka.
Charles can activate each one
or fire a salvo of all 6 if necessary.
Charles knows that the armor on top of the German tanks is relatively thin
and only went up to 45mm on the heaviest of tanks.
With each bazooka able to penetrate 99mm
Rosie was more than capable of raining down
deadly force upon the unsuspecting tank crews below.
Putting the plane into a deep dive,
Charlie flicks two switches on his customized panel on the console.
There’s a brief puff of smoke as the electricity ignites the charge and the rocket
powers towards it’s intended target of a German Panther below.
Smashing into the turret and creating a barrage of molten hot shrapnel inside,
the iron beast splutters it’s last and grinds to a halt.
Pulling on the stick and out of the deep dive,
Carpenter allows himself a moment of triumph
as he escapes the flurry of small arms fire that is now buzzing all around Rosie.
Usually the Germans don’t fire at spotters, as it gives away their positions,
but realizing this pilot isn’t flying the usual “harmless” type of Grasshopper,
they desperately try to hit the escaping plane.
Carpenter doesn’t go far.
Gaining enough height he pushes forward again
to line up his next target.
This time the Germans are ready
and Rosie doesn’t completely escape the hail of lead.
Unperturbed Charles takes out his second prize of the day
and another panther is stopped in the field.
Despite the fire from below,
Carpenter used all his rockets
and headed back to base leaving devastation behind him.
Landing back at base Carpenter refueled and rearmed Rosie.
Took off again and headed back to the column.
The Germans were waiting and threw everything they had at Charles and Rosie.
Charles managed to do several attack runs, using his full complement of rockets
and then incredibly headed back to base,
rearmed and refueled, and engaged the Germans a third time!
The Grasshopper was made of fabric stretched over a metal frame
and had a huge amount of lift for its size.
As such it could take several hits from small arms fire
and provided they didn’t hit anything essential
such as the pilot or the engine
the plane could shrug off holes in the wings or fuselage.
Having destroyed or immobilized several tanks and armored vehicles
the remaining Panzers were forced to retreat
and Charles decided that was enough for one day.
Interviewed by Stars and Stripes magazine
Charles told the reporter his idea of war
was to “attack, attack and then attack again”.
When asked what the enemy made of Charles he said,
“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."
Not one to just battle in the air,
Charles was no stranger to combat on the ground.
Near Avranches, Carpenter was scouting landing sites
Spotted by Germans his unit found themselves under attack.
With the US forces battling for their lives
Charles realised the battle was going against them.
In a battle rage, he climbed upon a Sherman tank
and took control of a 50 caliber machine gun!
Taking aim upon the enemy positions
Charles yelled all the while at the American troops to attack and press forward.
Led on that day by the mad major
shouting encouragement upon the Sherman
the American’s won the day and pushed the German forces back.
A little too enthusiastically,
Charles all the while continued firing,
unwittingly striking an American Sherman Bulldozer tank.
The bulldozer blade of the tank was shot off by Charles
and he was placed under arrest for his perceived recklessness.
Threatened with the firing squad he was in mortal danger for his actions
until his commanding officer intervened.
Expecting to be court marshaled in an incredible turn of events
General Patton himself saved Charles.
Patton went on to admonish his men for arresting Charles
and instead of punishing him he awarded
the major the Silver Star for bravery
saying that Carpenter was just the kind of fighting man he wanted in his army.
The press loved the story of the mad major and his fame grew.
He was interviewed and told the reporters
"Some people around here think I'm nuts
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”
By the end of the war,
Charles had incredibly knocked out 14 tanks
was officially credited with six tanks destroyed
including two of the feared Tiger 1s.
For his actions, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
In 1945 Carpenter was diagnosed with Hodgkins disease
and was honorably discharged from service
being given just 2 years to live.
He returned to work as a high school History teacher in Illinois
and defied the doctor's predictions and died in 1966.
As for Rosie, she survived the war.
In 1946 she was left in a German surplus yard
and had her bazookas removed.
Repainted in civilan colors and resold to owners in Switzerland and Austria
she became a flying club plane.
Just another Piper.
Eventually, she ended up gathering dust
in the Österreichisches Luftfahrtmuseum
her illustrious past completely forgotten.
Incredibly in 2017, Rosie was tracked down.
Realizing the historical importance
she was purchased by the Collings Foundation and brought to the US
where she is currently under restoration.
The foundation have almost finished the restoration
and have returned Rosie back to her original configuration.
The Rosie the Rocketer artwork on the side of the Grasshopper
looks exactly the same as it was originally.
It was painted on by Lt Col. Charles Carpenter’s granddaughter Erin.
We look forward to seeing Rosie flying again in the near future.
Thanks to War History Online for supplying us with the details to this story.
You can visit War History Online for the latest news on Rosie
and other incredible news and events on War History.
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