Johnson, George Leonard

Operation Chastise (Dambusters Raid)

Date of birth:: November 25th, 1921 (Hameringham/Lincolnshire, United Kingdom)
Date of death:: December 7th, 2022 (Bristol, United Kingdom)
Nationality:: British

Biography

George Leonard "Johnny" Johnson, born in Hameringham, Lincolnshire on 25 November 1921, grew up in poverty after his mother’s death. He attended Lord Wandsworth Agricultural College before working as a park keeper.

Volunteering for the RAF in 1940, he initially trained as a pilot in Florida but was reassigned as an air gunner upon returning to the UK. Posted to 97 Squadron in July 1942, he flew as a spare gunner before training as a bomb aimer. Joining Joe McCarthy’s crew in December, he completed 18 operations, earning a DFM.

During the Dams Raid on 17 May 1943, Johnson dropped the bomb on the Sorpe Dam after ten attempts but failed to breach it. He was commissioned in November. After the war, he became a navigator and served until 1962.

Johnson later retrained as a teacher, working in primary education and psychiatric hospitals. Retiring in Torquay, he became active in local politics, serving as a councillor and constituency chair.

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