Major General
William H. Tschappat

Major General William H. TschappatWilliam Harvey Tschappat was born in Cameron, Ohio, the tenth of eleven children of Swiss descent, on 10 August 1874. His father, a farmer, moved his family to Beallsville, Ohio, where William completed his schooling. He briefly taught school in nearby ,Jerusalem, Ohio, while continuing to work on the family farm. Tschappat consistently stood fifth in his West Point Class of 1896, and while unobtrusive in habits, was popular with his classmates. First assigned to the Artillery, he spent several years in routine assignments at Forts Slocum, Hancock, and Hamilton. Commissioned a first lieutenant in Ordnance early in October, 1898, he completed an assignment at Watertown Arsenal, and then spent a year in the Office, Chief of Ordnance in Washington.

The next five years took him to Sandy Hook Proving Ground and to inspection duties at the Bethlehem Steel plant in South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. From September 1906, until the following May, Tschappat, by then a captain, was Chief Ordnance Officer of the Army of Cuban Pacification and Depot Ordnance Officer in Havana. His next posting took him to Picatinny Arsenal, where he became a major in September 1907. Here he carried on a number of the scientific investigations in powder design and its effect upon projectiles for which he was to become noted.

Five years as professor of Ordnance and the Science of Gunnery at West Point followed from August 1912 until July 1917, during which time Tschappat was promoted to lieutenant colonel. During the years 1913 and 1914, while teaching at the Academy, Tschappat put together the text for his book, Ordnance and Gunnery, published in 1917, which went through several later editions and was utilized by students at West Point for a generation. One important feature of the book was the first discussion of a new method of solving the essential problems of interior ballistics. Tschappat then went to Fort Monroe as Ordnance Officer for seven months before briefly returning to his duties at West Point for one term. He was then assigned to administrative duties at the Office, Chief of Ordnance as a temporary colonel in July 1918, and remained in Washington for four years. In July 1922, he became commanding officer of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, remaining there until May 1925, at which time he returned to the Office, Chief of Ordnance as Chief of the Technical Staff. Colonel Tschappat continued in this post for four years, until May 1929. He then went to the Philippines as Department Ordnance Officer and commanding officer of the Philippine Ordnance Depot from early October 1929 until June 1930, following which he returned to Washington as Assistant Chief of Ordnance and Chief of Manufacturing Service. He became a brigadier general on 10 June 1930, and served in these two capacities until June 1934.

Tschappat was promoted to major general and Chief of Ordnance on 3 June 1934. During his tenure, he was primarily concerned with the scientific aspects of ordnance. His insistence upon the importance of this field laid the groundwork for much of the research and development program which culminated in the creation of the Research Division at Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1935. With General Tschappat's consistent backing, the Research Division was expanded into the now famous Ballistic Research Laboratory at Aberdeen in 1938. In other areas, the Garand M1 Rifle, later to be the standard weapon of American infantrymen in World War II, was adopted in 1936. General Tschappat was retired for physical disability on 31 August 1938, and lived near Falls Church, Virginia. From 1942 to 1945, he served as a member of the National Inventor's Council, the purpose of which was to save the defense establishment time by screening ideas and inventions which might be considered for use in wartime. General Tschappat died on 22 September 1955 at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington at the age of 81.