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. 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