pagesofhistory Build Me a Bazooka
When the U.S. decided to enter World War II, the country’s leaders knew it needed a weapon to help stop German tanks. A young Army engineer answered the call.
G
en. Dwight D. Eisenhower called the bazooka one of the most crucial “tools of victory” in
World War II. On May 9, inventor of the ba- zooka Edward Uhl died at the age of 92. In early 1942, Uhl, then an Army lieu-
tenant, was serving in the ordnance corps when he and colleague Leslie Skinner were asked to create an antitank weapon capable of penetrating German armor. Working at a small shop in Indian Head, Md., they came up with a shoulder-mounted rocket launch- er, then known as the M1 rocket launcher. Uhl and Skinner planned an inexpensive
and mobile launching system, attaching gre- nades to miniature rockets that flew at 300 feet a second. The duo struggled to find a way to prevent servicemembers from being burned by the rockets’ hot gas when fired. That’s when Uhl stumbled across a 5-foot metal tube in a junkyard and conceived the idea to put the tube on a servicemember’s shoulder with the rocket inside. They added a shoulder stock and a handgrip and tested the weapon. It was a success. During World War II, the Army distrib-
uted more than 450,000 rocket launchers. The nickname “bazooka” came after one officer who witnessed the device’s testing said the launcher resembled comedian Bob
THIS MONTH IN HISTORY
■ On Oct. 31, 1956, U.S. Navy Rear Adm. George J. Dufek led a team of six to become the first to land an airplane at the South Pole. Dufek served in World War II and the Korean War and spent much of his career in the Antarctic.
PHOTO: ELVIS PRESLEY ENTERPRISES INC.
Burns’ tubular musical in- strument, called the bazooka. Uhl later became presi-
dent of Fairchild Industries, overseeing the production of the A-10 Thunderbolt II, which ravaged Iraqi tanks in the Persian Gulf War.
T
Soldier Buried he remains of Pvt. Thomas D. Costello, USA, missing in ac-
tion from World War I, have been identified and returned to his family. He was buried with full military honors July 12 at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. On Sept. 16, 1918, as part of the 60th
Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 5th Infan- try Division, Costello encountered heavy enemy artillery barrage and machine-gun fire near Jaulny, France. He was killed in the battle, and his remains were buried with those of two other soldiers in a wood- ed area between Bois de Bonvaux and Bois de Grand Fontaine. Attempts to locate his grave following the war were unsuccessful. In September 2006, a French group,
Thanks GIs, discovered the remains and World War I artifacts. A Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team near the location was notified and recovered the remains. The discovery represents one of only a handful of recent instances in which World War I remains have been found. MO
O C TO B E R 2 0 1 0 MI L I T A R Y O F F I C E R 7 1
Elvis Presley, who served a stint in the U.S. Army in the late 1950s, practices aim- ing a bazooka during his military training.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96