Obituary: Sqn Ldr George 'Johnny' Johnson

"Johnny" Johnson was the past subsister of the RAF bomber squadron known arsenic the Dambusters.

In May 1943, 3 formations of Lancaster bombers were sent to onslaught a bid of dams successful Germany's concern heartland.

Their targets provided Hitler's warfare instrumentality with hydro-electric powerfulness and h2o for alloy production. They were good protected, with anti-aircraft guns and torpedo nets.

The RAF's 617 squadron carried specially-developed "bouncing bombs" devised by the inventor Barnes Wallis. They were designed to skip implicit the dams' defences and detonate against the sides.

Two targets - the Möhne and the Eder dams - were destroyed, causing 1,600 casualties and catastrophic flooding which hampered the German warfare effort. A 3rd - the Sorpe - was severely damaged.

The raid was immortalised successful the 1955 movie The Dam Busters starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave. The film's taxable euphony is inactive sung astatine shot matches and has adjacent been utilized successful brew commercials.

But 617 Squadron paid dearly for its bravery. Eight of the 19 planes progressive were changeable down, and 53 men mislaid their lives.

George Leonard Johnson was calved successful Lincolnshire connected 25 November 1921.

The sixth and youngest kid of a workplace worker, his parent died erstwhile helium was inactive a toddler. Leonard - arsenic helium was known wrong the household - was cared for by an older sister, and astir beaten by his father.

Johnson was sent to Lord Wandsworth's Agricultural College successful Hampshire, a boarding schoolhouse that offered escaped acquisition to farming children who had mislaid a parent. The section squire's woman yet persuaded his begetter to fto him go.

After school, helium worked arsenic a trainee parks superintendent successful Basingstoke. In 1940, helium volunteered for work successful the RAF.

A twelvemonth later, Johnson - present known to each arsenic "Johnny" - was sent to Florida for aviator training. He failed the people and developed a heavy dislike for the US Army Air Corps, which helium thought obsessed with petty subject and incapable of marching properly.

Back successful Britain, helium opted to go a gunner until helium discovered that weaponry aimers got higher wages. He joined No. 97 Squadron wherever his squad was piloted by a New Yorker, Joe McCarthy.

Despite his reservations astir Americans, Johnson greatly admired McCarthy - describing him arsenic "big successful size, large successful property and large successful aviator ability".

McCarthy's unit transferred to 617 Squadron successful March 1943, erstwhile it was formed nether 24-year-old Guy Gibson.

Johnson described his caller Wing Commander arsenic "arrogant, bombastic, a strict disciplinarian, but 1 of the champion pilots successful Bomber Command".

All permission had been cancelled arsenic 617 Squadron prepared for Operation Chastise, the raid connected the German dams. Due to get married, Johnson pleaded for a fewer days off, and Gibson yet relented.

To destruct the dams, Barnes Wallis had archetypal considered a 10,000 kg weaponry dropped from a tallness of 40,000 feet - but nary craft was susceptible of flying astatine specified a tallness with truthful dense a payload.

Instead, helium had devised a benignant of extent complaint - dropped astatine a tallness of 60 feet astatine 240 mph - that would bounce implicit the torpedo nets and detonate adjacent to the partition of the dam.

In bid to transportation the weapons, overmuch of the Lancaster's armour had to beryllium removed. The weapons, excessively large to acceptable into the weaponry bay, were carried underneath and acceptable spinning earlier their release.

Johnson took portion successful intensive trials implicit British reservoirs and Chesil Beach. Realising that the Lancaster's altimeter was not close enough, spotlights were installed astatine each extremity of the craft - with the beams intersecting astatine precisely 60 feet.

Johnson and McCarthy were briefed to onslaught the Sorpe Dam, conscionable eastbound of Dortmund.

It was the toughest people of all. The Sorpe - dissimilar the Möhne and the Eder dams - was constructed of factual covered by thousands of tons of earth.

Like the remainder of 617 Squadron, Johnson had practised releasing his weaponry flying straight astatine the target. On the day earlier the raid, however, helium was told that wouldn't enactment for the Sorpe.

Instead, McCarthy would person to alert parallel crossed the dam astatine a debased level. The specializer bomb-aiming instrumentality developed for the raid was present useless, and Johnson was going to person to trust connected instinct to driblet the weaponry dormant centre.

Of the 5 Lancasters which acceptable disconnected for the Sorpe dam, lone 2 made it to Germany.

When they arrived, McCarthy realised the attack was adjacent much hazardous than expected. A religion steeple connected a elevation overlooking the dam meant helium had to propulsion up sharply.

In a BBC interrogation successful 2014, Johnson told however it took 9 signifier runs - amid complaints from the rear gunner - earlier helium was assured capable to merchandise the bomb.

"On the 10th tally we were down to 30ft," helium recalled. "When I said, 'Bomb gone,' 'Thank Christ!' came from the rear turret."

"We pulled up to halt hitting the hills connected the different side," Johnson explained, "so I didn't spot the explosion, but Dave did successful the rear turret - and helium estimated the operation of h2o went up astir 1,000ft."

'Not lone that," helium added, "in the down flow, immoderate came into the turret truthful I thought I was going to beryllium drowned.'"

The Sorpe dam was damaged, but not breached. The Möhne and the Eder, however, were wholly destroyed.

"Johnny" Johnson went to Buckingham Palace to person the Distinguished Flying Medal for his bravery. He flew different 19 missions with 617 Squadron, until his woman became large and McCarthy insisted helium was reassigned.

Later helium was commissioned, qualified arsenic a navigator, and stayed successful the RAF until 1962 - retiring arsenic a squadron leader.

Johnson retrained arsenic a teacher - archetypal with superior schoolhouse children and past psychiatric patients astatine the high-security Rampton hospital.

He became a section councillor and president of the Torquay Conservative Association - but seldom spoke of the celebrated raid.

As the past subsister of the raid, determination were periodic campaigns to grant him a knighthood.

The astir caller saw a 237,000-signature petition handed to No. 10 Downing Street by the TV presenter Carol Vorderman and Gulf War seasoned John Nichol successful 2017.

Had it come, "Johnny" Johnson planned to inquire Her Majesty "with owed humility" if it could beryllium dedicated to the 55,573 bomber aerial crews that gave their lives during the war.

He was awarded an MBE successful that year's Birthday Honours. Three years later, helium celebrated his 100th birthday.

Sir Arthur Harris, the caput of Bomber Command, was known to person regretted the mission. With a casualty complaint of 40%, it was - helium believed - a discarded of men and resources.

Others disagreed. From the Möhne dam, a 10m precocious tidal question had swept done factories, powerfulness stations and mines - with a existent interaction connected Germany's subject capability.

"That night," wrote Hitler's confidante Albert Speer, "employing conscionable a fewer bombers, the British came adjacent to a occurrence which would person been greater than thing they had achieved hitherto with a committedness of thousands of bombers."

On anniversaries of the raid, Johnson was consenting to stock his memories - arsenic a means of paying tribute to his fallen colleagues.

"I was fortunate with the close crew, successful the close spot astatine the close time," helium said. "I deliberation it was a large raid, and a tribute to each those who took portion - peculiarly those who gave their lives successful pursuing their target".