Johnnie Johnson

Who was Johnnie Johnson?

Air Vice Marshal James Edgar "Johnnie" Johnson CB CBE DSO DFC was a Royal Air Force pilot and flying ace—defined as a pilot that has shot down five or more enemy aircraft in aerial combat—who, during the Second World War, credited 34 individual victories over enemy aircraft, as well as seven shared victories, three shared probables, 10 damaged, three shared damaged and one destroyed on the ground. Johnson flew 700 operational sorties engaging enemy aircraft on only 57 occasions. Included in his list of individual victories were 14 Messerschmitt Bf 109s and 20 Focke-Wulf Fw 190s destroyed making him the most successful RAF ace against the Fw 190.

This score made him the highest scoring Western Allied fighter ace against the German Luftwaffe. Only Marmaduke Pattle claimed more victories—around 50—overall than any other Western Allied pilot in the European War, but over half of his claims were made against the Italian Regia Aeronautica and a significant number of his claims cannot be verified.

Johnson grew up and was educated in the East Midlands where he qualified as an engineer. A keen outdoor enthusiast, Johnson hunted and played sports. During the course of these pursuits, he sustained a collar bone injury that later complicated his ambitions of becoming a fighter pilot. Johnson had been interested in aviation since his youth and applied to join the RAF. He was initially rejected by the RAF on medical grounds, but after the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939, with the need for pilots in RAF Fighter Command being urgent, Johnson was accepted.