Roscoe Charles Wilson | |
|---|---|
 Lieutenant General Roscoe C. Wilson | |
| Nickname(s) | Bim |
| Born | June 11, 1905 Centralia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | August 21, 1986 (aged 81) Louisville, Kentucky |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service |  United States Army United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1928–1961 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant General |
| Commands |  Third Air Force |
| Battles / wars | 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 a United States Air Force general who was Commandant of the Air War College from 1951 to 1954 and Deputy Chief of Staff, Development, from 1958 to 1961.
A 1928 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Wilson was commissioned into the United States Army as a second lieutenant in the field artillery but underwent flying training and, on receiving his pilot's wings, transferred to the United States Army Air Corps in 1929. He attended the Air Corps Engineering School at Wright-Patterson Field, Ohio and was assigned to the Aircraft Design Section of the Aircraft Laboratory there, where he worked on the development of the XB-15, B-17 and XB-19.
During World War II, Wilson was Chief of Development Engineering at United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) headquarters, and was the USAAF liaison officer to the Manhattan Project. In December 1944 he became Chief of Staff of the 316th Bombardment Wing. Its B-29s deployed to Okinawa in June 1945, and he participated in the last air raids on Japan. After the war ended he was involved in a survey of the damage done by the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1947, he became one of the Deputy Chiefs of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project.
From October 1951 to May 1954 Wilson was Commandant of the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. He then became commander of the Third Air Force in the United Kingdom. He was promoted to lieutenant 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.