| So much has
been written about James Johnson that I'm not going to
give the full story here. The son of a Melton Mowbray police inspector, James Johnson was born on 9 March 1915. He was educated at Loughborough School and gained his civil engineering degree from Nottingham University in 1938. 'Johnnie' learnt to shoot by bagging rabbits for money as a lad. This early lesson in the art of deflection shooting proved invaluable later in life. His early attempts to join the Auxiliary Air Force were unsuccessful, as was his application to the RAFVR. He joined the Leicestershire Yeomanry instead, but on expansion of the RAFVR his application was reopened and was successful. He joined 616 whilst they were still at Fowlmere just before they moved to Kirton-in-Lindsay, staying with them when they moved to Tangmere. 'Johnnie' often flew alongside Douglas Bader in 616, and was with him the day Bader was shot down over St. Omer. He was a great tactician, tempering aggression with caution, an advocate of the 'finger four' system. He ended the war as the highest scoring Allied pilot, with 38 kills. Here are some more recent images.
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© Copyright Ian Wedge, 1998
Last updated 18 February 2002
