Background
Uhl, Edward George was born on March 24, 1918 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States. Son of Henry and Mary (Schiller) University.
Uhl, Edward George was born on March 24, 1918 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States. Son of Henry and Mary (Schiller) University.
Bachelor of Science, Lehigh University, 1940. Honorary Doctor of Science, Lehigh University, 1975.
He enlisted in the United States Army in 1941 and was commissioned into the Ordnance Corps. In 1942 while working at the headquarters of the corps in Washington with the rank of lieutenant he was tasked with utilizing the M10 shaped charge as an anti-tank weapon for use by the infantry. lieutenant was too heavy for a hand grenade so Uhl used a piece of scrap metal tubing to create a simple recoilless rocket launcher to propel the charge.
According to Uhl,
By launching from the shoulder the danger of burns to the face of the operator was avoided.
In 1942 the new weapon was deployed to North Africa and it was later used effectively against German tanks in the Normandy Campaign. Uhl rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and after his military service he worked for the Glenn L. Martin Company and Martin Marietta on guided missiles projects and became vice-president of engineering.
He was then president of the Fairchild Engine and Airplane company before his retirement in 1985. He died aged 92 of heart failure.
Trustee Johns Hopkins University. Chairman board trustees Lehigh University. Board nominations Aviation Hall Fame.
Served from Second lieutenant to lieutenant colonel Ordnance Corps Army of the United States, 1941-1946. Fellow American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Member Air Force Association, American Defense Preparedness Association (John C. Jones award 1975), Society Automotive Engineers, Phi Beta Kappa, Tau Beta Pi.
Clubs: Assembly (Hagerstown). Maryland (Baltimore). Talbot Country (Easton).
Sky (New York City).
Married Maurine B. Keleher, July 19, 1942 (deceased 1966). Children: Carol Uhl Nordlinger, Kim, Scott, Cynthia Uhl McKitrick. Married Mary Stuart Brugh, September 17, 1966.