Johnny Johnson was the last of a group of unique men who carried out one of the most daring and skillful raids in RAF history
On December 7th, the last of the heroic “Dambusters” passed away at the age of 101, Airman Johnny Johnson, the bomber of the RAF’s 617 Squadron, who with his last flight to eternity seals an entire era.
It was shortly after nine o’clock on the evening of May 16, 1943, when nineteen British Lancaster bombers took off in three formations from an airfield in central England to strike four dams in Germany’s industrial heartland that supplied electricity to Nazi steelworks in the wider area. of the Ruhr. In their bellies they carried a previously unknown spinning cylindrical bomb, which was designed to bounce in the water, like a pebble in a lake, before exploding against the walls of a dam and releasing hundreds of tons of water with a rush. It was designed by the genius inventor Barnes Wallis.
According to British wartime prime minister Winston Churchill, operations of this type had to meet three conditions to be considered successful: “anywhere, anytime, absolutely.” Although on that night in May 1943, only eleven of the nineteen aircraft made it back, and 53 airmen were killed (40% of the men who took part in the mission), Operation ‘Chastise’ as it was called was considered relatively successful, since three of the four dams that had been selected as targets were destroyed.
As Steve Darlow, writer, editor and documentary consultant, reports to the Athens-Macedonian Agency, “Johnny Johnson was the last of a group of unique men, the ‘Dambusters’, who carried out one of the most daring and skillful raids in the history of the Royal Air Force , which required both great determination and bravery. Johnny admitted that he was lucky to survive not only this raid but all the other missions he completed with Bomber Command. He will be sorely missed by so many people who came to know him either directly through his RAF associations, or through his support of so many good causes. A humble man, proud of what he achieved, who will also be remembered for his modesty and modesty. Like many others I had the honor and privilege of knowing him.”
The BBC interview
In an interview with the BBC in 2014, Jonny Johnson claimed that until the last moment they did not know about the type of mission they would carry out. They had been given the impression that they would hit a large German battleship (s.s. Tirpitz). He himself felt that he was going to take part in a special mission and he had to do his job properly. He remembered that lying in the glass nose of the plane in front of his gun he released the spinning bomb when he was absolutely sure it would explode at the base of the dam and to achieve this the bomber made six or seven rounds overhead. Then the tail gunner shouted “Will someone finally drop the bomb”?
As for the critics of the operation later, because of the high number of casualties, he believed that by carrying it out a message had been sent to Hitler that the RAF was there and could hit any target in Germany, and because this success came after the victory at El Alamein, the question was whether they were at the turning point of the war.
“We did not start the war. If you are threatened with war, you must defend yourself and defend your country with every means at your disposal,” Johnson stressed. “I enlisted to do a certain job. I feel privileged and grateful to have been part of the raid which was the best moment of my career,” he added.
A final account
A total of 133 RAF airmen took part in the operation, including crews from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. 53 airmen were killed during the mission, while three others parachuted out to be captured later. A total of eight aircraft did not return. Of the four dams hit, two (Mohne and Edersee) were completely broken, while the third, operated by Johnny Johnson (Sorpe), suffered minor damage. At the last dam (Ennepe) the bomb missed the target. Early the next day an RAF Spitfire flying at high altitude photographed the damaged dams as proof of the successful mission.
On the German side, the losses were 1,600 dead civilians from the surrounding villages, drowned by the volume of water that poured out, among them many forced laborers. Two hydroelectric plants were completely destroyed, and industrial steel production did not return to normal until September 1943.
The leader and mastermind of the mission, twenty-four-year-old 617 Squadron Commander-in-Chief Guy Gibson, one of Bomber Command’s most gifted pilots, who was awarded the highest decoration of the Victoria Cross, would be killed later in the war in 1944. Johnny Johnson would be honored for his bravery with the Distinguished Flying Medal, and would fly 19 more missions with Bomber Command. He would then train as a seaman and remain in the RAF until 1962 reaching the rank of admiral. Then as a citizen he will become a teacher in primary schools and also in psychiatric institutions.
He will be knighted by the Queen in 2017, while he has called for the medal to be dedicated to the 55,573 men of RAF Bomber Command who died in the Second World War, a number far greater than all serving in the RAF today.
As author Steve Darlow points out, “Death ends a life but not a relationship and it’s clear from the multitude of posts on social media that so many people had a special relationship with Jonny that will live on for many years to come.” still. Such was the decency, humility and generosity of the man. Johnny risked his life to bring about peace. May he now rest in peace.”
RES-EMP
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
