World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseEdward G. Uhl was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States in 1918. He graduated from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States with an engineering degree. In 1941, he joined the US Army and was commissioned into the Ordnance Corps. In 1942, under the direction of Colonel Leslie Skinner, he was given the task of creating the means for an infantry soldier to effectively deliver a shaped charge toward an enemy target, and ultimately created a simple tubular launcher to deliver the rocket-propelled shaped charge. The design was officially designated M1 (M1A1, M9, and M9A1 variants would be created later in WW2), but the weapons were often referred to by the nickname "Bazooka", which was the name of a music instrument that was similar in appearance. He married Maurine Keleher in 1943. Uhl retired from the US Army in 1947 at the rank of lieutenant colonel and worked for rocket projects at the Glenn L. Martin Company and the American Marietta Corporation. Between 1959 and 1961, he was a vice president with Ryan Aeronautics. He then went on to become the president of the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Company in 1961, succeeding the company's founder Sherman Fairchild. In 1976, he became the company's chairman. He retired in 1985 and passed away in 2010.

Edward Uhl Timeline