 When the United States entered World War II in December 1941 , the USAAF was a part of the army , and motion picture production was the responsibility of the Army Signal Corps . USAAF Commanding General " Hap " Arnold believed that the formation of an independent film entity would help lead to the air service gaining its independence . At a meeting in March 1942 , General Arnold commissioned Warner Bros. head Jack L. Warner , producer Hal Wallis and scriptwriter Owen Crump to create the unit . Warner was made lieutenant colonel and Crump a captain but Wallis , who was then in production with Casablanca , did not accept the offer . Of immediate concern was a critical shortage of pilots and recruits . Arnold told Warner he needed 100 @,@ 000 pilots , and contracted with Warner Bros. to produce and release a recruitment film , which would come to be known as Winning Your Wings . 
