Donald Wilson

Who was Donald Wilson?

Donald Wilson was a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II.

Wilson enlisted in the Maryland National Guard as a private in 1916 and served with it on the Mexican border and the Western Front during World War I before transferring to the United States Army Air Service. After the war, he obtained a regular commission. Already qualified as an aerial observer, he became a pilot in 1922. For many years he was an influential instructor at the Air Corps Tactical School. Wilson became a leading theorist who embraced the doctrine that strategic bombing was the most important aspect of air power. He argued that by attacking vulnerabilities, whole industries could be brought to a halt without necessarily having to destroy all of the factories. The doctrine which Wilson expounded later became the basis for AWPD-1, the Army Air Forces' strategic war plan developed in 1941.

During World War II, Wilson served as Chief of the Personnel Division of the War Department General Staff. He became Chief of Staff of the Fifth Air Force in September 1942, before returning to the United States in 1944 to become Assistant Chief of Staff, United States Army Air Forces for Organization, Commitments and Requirements. For a time he was acting Chief of Staff of Army Air Forces. In February 1945, Wilson was present at the Battle of Iwo Jima as an official Army Air Forces observer. In June 1945, he assumed command of the Air Force Proving Ground Command.