Roscoe Charles Wilson was born in Centralia, Pennsylvania, on June 11, 1905, the son of an Army officer, Colonel Everett R.

[1] He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point as a cadet on July 1, 1924, and graduated 48th in the class of 1928.

After further training at the Advanced Flying School at Kelly Field, Texas he received his pilot's wings,[4] and transferred to the United States Army Air Corps on November 21, 1929.

[6] Wilson attended the Air Corps Engineering School at Wright-Patterson Field, Ohio from July 1932 to June 1933.

[4] From May to August 1939, he attended the Air Corps Tactical School,[1] after which he returned to West Point as an assistant professor.

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.

[9]Wilson was posted to Britain from March to April 1944, where he was involved in an exchange of technical information with the Royal Air Force.

[4] On July 26, 1947, he became one of the deputy chiefs of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, with the rank of brigadier general from April 1948.

[4] At the time, the Third Air Force was responsible for the only tactical 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 the Weapons Systems Evaluation Group in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Development.

[4] He became president and chairman of Allied Research in Concord, Massachusetts, a defense contractor, but retired in 1963,[6] and moved to Harrods Creek, Louisville, Kentucky.