Colonel
Leslie A. Skinner

Colonel Skinner's contributions led to momentous advancements in rocketry and fuzes.

Best known of the numerous weapons he devised and designed was the 2.36-inch shoulder-fired rocket and its launcher, the legendary bazooka.

He designed and carried through into standardization the U. S. Army's first air-to-ground and artillery rockets, the 4.5-inch-diameter solid-fueled M8, and the 3.5-inch target rocket.

Colonel Skinner also assisted in the development and testing of the first proximity fuze. His remarkable achievement of designing and carrying through to standardization in the brief period of 18 months, the U. S. Army's first three rocket weapons, was a direct result of his own initiative and determination to get better weapons into the hands of American soldiers then in battle, in keeping with the highest traditions of the U. S. Army Ordnance Corps.