Roscoe Charles Wilson | |
|---|---|
 Lieutenant General Roscoe C. Wilson | |
| Nickname | Bim |
| Born | (1905-06-11)June 11, 1905 |
| Died | August 21, 1986(1986-08-21) (aged 81) |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Branch |  United States Army United States Air Force |
| Service years | 1928–1961 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant General |
| Commands |  Third Air Force |
| Conflicts | World War II: |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (3) |
| Alma mater | United States Military Academy (BS) |
Roscoe Charles Wilson (June 11, 1905 – August 21, 1986) was aUnited States Air Force general who was Commandant of theAir War College from 1951 to 1954 and DeputyChief of Staff, Development, from 1958 to 1961.
A 1928 graduate of theUnited States Military Academy at West Point, Wilson was commissioned into the United States Army as asecond lieutenant in thefield artillery but underwent flying training and, on receiving his pilot's wings, transferred to theUnited States Army Air Corps in 1929. He attended theAir Corps Engineering School atWright-Patterson Field, Ohio and was assigned to the Aircraft Design Section of the Aircraft Laboratory there, where he worked on the development of theXB-15,B-17 andXB-19.
DuringWorld War II, Wilson was Chief of Development Engineering atUnited States Army Air Forces (USAAF) headquarters, and was the USAAF liaison officer to theManhattan Project. In December 1944 he became Chief of Staff of the316th Bombardment Wing. ItsB-29s deployed toOkinawa in June 1945, and he participated in the lastair raids on Japan. After the war ended he was involved in a survey of the damage done by thebombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1947, he became one of the Deputy Chiefs of theArmed Forces Special Weapons Project.
From October 1951 to May 1954 Wilson was Commandant of theAir War College atMaxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. He then became commander of theThird Air Force in the United Kingdom. He was promoted tolieutenant general on July 1, 1958, when he became Deputy Chief of Staff, Development. He retired from the Air Force in 1961 and became president and chairman of Allied Research.
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Roscoe Charles Wilson was born inCentralia, Pennsylvania, on June 11, 1905, the son of an Army officer, Colonel Everett R. Wilson.[1] He entered theUnited States Military Academy at West Point as a cadet on July 1, 1924, and graduated 48th in the class of 1928. He was commissioned as asecond lieutenant in thefield artillery on June 9, 1928,[2][3] but on September 8 he commenced flight training atBrooks Field, Texas. After further training at the Advanced Flying School atKelly Field, Texas he received his pilot's wings,[4] and transferred to theUnited States Army Air Corps on November 21, 1929.[3]
Wilson's first posting was to the1st Observation Squadron atMitchel Field, New York.[4] In 1929 he married Elizabeth Robinson, aVassar College graduate fromHarrods Creek,Louisville, Kentucky in a ceremony atChrist Church Cathedral in Louisville.[5] Their son Charles E. Wilson would also attend West Point, graduating with the class of 1954.[6]
Wilson attended theAir Corps Engineering School atWright-Patterson Field, Ohio from July 1932 to June 1933.[4] After graduating, he was assigned to the Aircraft Design Section of the Aircraft Laboratory there,[3] where he worked on the development of theP-39,XB-15,B-17 andXB-19.[4] He was promoted tofirst lieutenant on February 1, 1934, and was Director of the Special Research and Test Laboratory and Director of Accessory Design and Test Laboratory.[1]
Wilson came back to West Point in July 1937 as an instructor in the Department of Natural and Experimental Philosophy,[1] as the Science Department was then known. He was promoted tocaptain on July 9, 1938.[4] From May to August 1939, he attended theAir Corps Tactical School,[1] after which he returned to West Point as an assistant professor.[3] While there he built a wind tunnel, and wrote a book, entitledPreliminary Airplane Design, which was published in 1941.[7]
In June 1940, Wilson was posted back to Wright Field as Assistant Chief of the Air Laboratory of theAir Materiel Command, where he was promoted tomajor on January 31, 1941,lieutenant colonel on February 1, 1942, and colonel on March 1, 1942. He became Assistant Chief of Development Engineering atUnited States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Headquarters in Washington, DC, on May 1, 1942, and then its Chief on June 2, 1943.[3] As such, he reported toMajor GeneralOliver P. Echols, the head of theAir Materiel Command.[8]
The Chief of USAAF,GeneralHenry H. Arnold, designated Echols as the USAAF liaison with theManhattan Project. In turn, Echols designated Wilson as his alternative, and it was Wilson who became Manhattan Project's main USAAF contact. The director of the Manhattan Project, Major General Leslie Groves later wrote that:
[Wilson] was a most fortunate choice, for his personality and professional competence ensured the smooth co-operation essential to our success. Through his efforts, the necessary air support was always provided by the subordinate Air Force commands, if not willingly, at least without delay.While I can say the same of every other Air Force officer with whom I had any dealings in the project, I have always felt particularly grateful to Wilson, for he had to bear the brunt of all our many minor problems with the Air Force as well as a major responsibility for a number of our principal activities. I am sure that he must have had many difficult moments with his Air Force colleagues, as he denied them, for security reasons, information they considered essential to understand the reasons for his requests.[9]
Wilson was posted to Britain from March to April 1944, where he was involved in an exchange of technical information with theRoyal Air Force. In December 1944 he became Chief of Staff of the316th Bombardment Wing, which was then based atColorado Springs, Colorado, but soon moved toTopeka, Kansas.[3] ItsB-29s deployed toOkinawa in June 1945,[6] and he participated in the lastair raids on Japan.[4] After the war ended he was involved in a survey of the damage done by thebombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[3]
After the war, Wilson served in the Office of the Assistant Chief of Air Staff for Materiel and Supply, the Office of the Deputy Commander of the Army Air Force, and Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research and Development.[4] On July 26, 1947, he became one of the deputy chiefs of theArmed Forces Special Weapons Project, with the rank ofbrigadier general from April 1948.[3] He also served on the Military Liaison Committee of theUnited States Atomic Energy Commission.[4] He became Deputy Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, operations, for Atomic Energy, in July 1948, and Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, for Atomic Energy, in February 1950,[3] although he remained on the Military Liaison Committee. He was promoted tomajor general on August 11, 1950.[4]
From October 1951 to May 1954 Wilson was Commandant of theAir War College atMaxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. He then became commander of theThird Air Force in the United Kingdom, also becoming head of theMilitary Assistance Advisory Group for the United Kingdom on November 1, 1956.[4] At the time, the Third Air Force was responsible for the onlytactical nuclear weapons in Europe, so Wilson was a logical choice as commander.[6] After returning to the United States in July 1957, he became the Air Force member of theWeapons Systems Evaluation Group in theOffice of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Development. He was promoted tolieutenant general on July 1, 1958, when he became Deputy Chief of Staff, Development. In a reorganization of the area on July 1, 1961, he became Deputy Chief of Staff, Research and Technology.[4]
Wilson retired from the Air Force on November 1, 1961. His decorations included theDistinguished Service Medal[10] and theLegion of Merit with twooak leaf clusters.[4] He became president and chairman of Allied Research in Concord, Massachusetts, a defense contractor, but retired in 1963,[6] and moved toHarrods Creek,Louisville, Kentucky.[5] He died on August 21, 1986, and was buried inZachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville.[11][12]
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