"London. On 22 June 2018 he was honoured by having a train named after him. Johnny Johnson (RAF officer) Squadron Leader George Leonard ""Johnny"" Johnson, (born 25 November 1921) is a retired Royal Air Force officer and Britain's last survivor of the original members of No. 617 Squadron RAF and of Operation Chastise, the ""Dambusters"" raid of 1943. George Johnson (known within the family as Leonard) was the sixth and last child born to Mary Ellen (née Henfrey) and Charles Johnson. He was born in the village of Hameringham in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. His mother died"
"in his act, while riding a torpedo. The lion went to the Los Angeles Zoo. A new design replaced the cub with a tiger and parrot on the torpedo, and was approved on 18 April 1949. Sometime in the 1950s, the squadron adopted a shield insignia that featured an eagle's head and a torpedo. On 1 May 1951, squadron aircraft disabled the heavily defended Hwacheon Dam in North Korea, earning them the nickname ""Dambusters"", echoing the original Dam Busters of No. 617 Squadron RAF. Destruction of the dam had been previously attempted by other units many times. In August 1985,"
"originally referred to as ""Squadron X"", was formed at Scampton in order to carry out the proposed raid, codenamed Operation Chastise. More commonly referred to as the ""Dambusters Raid"", the raid would go down as the most famous and widely remembered in the history of the Royal Air Force. On the night of 16–17 May 1943, 617 Sqn despatched 19 Lancasters from Scampton. Led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the main bulk of the squadron attacked the Sorpe, Eder and Möhne dams with an additional aircraft tasked to perform an attack on the Schwelm Dam. Both the Eder and Möhne"
"built in Oxford and is still used today. Its walls are painted in the school colours. In the Second World War air raid shelters were dug into the grass of the Quad. The School was presented with a stained glass window by the RAF at the end of the War in recognition of """"the superb contribution to the war effort made by former pupils of the School"""". These included, among many others, Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC DSO DFC of 617 Squadron, who led 'The Dambusters', flying ace Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader DSO DFC, and Adrian Warburton DSO &"
"War exploits of the squadron and ""Chastise"" in particular, were described in Guy Gibson's own 1944 account ""Enemy Coast Ahead"", as well as Paul Brickhill's 1951 book ""The Dam Busters"" and a 1955 film, though the accuracy and completeness of these accounts were compromised by many of the documents relating to the war years still being secured by the Official Secrets Act. The definitive work however is considered ""The Dambusters Raid"" by John Sweetman. It is based on careful research and cross checking of original documents as well as interviews with survivors of the raid. In 2006, it was announced"
"The Dam Busters (book) The Dam Busters is a non-fiction book by Paul Brickhill about Royal Air Force Squadron 617 Originally commanded by Wing Commander Guy Gibson V.C. during World War II. The squadron became known as the ""Dam Busters"" because of Operation Chastise, a mission using highly specialised bombs to destroy Ruhr dams in Germany. The book also covers the subsequent history of 617 Squadron, as an elite squadron specializing in attacking difficult targets with outsize weapons and precision techniques. Among Gibson's successors as commander was Group Captain Leonard Cheshire V.C., and the book describes Cheshire's unorthodox leadership style"
"was disbanded on 1 April 1920 after being renumbered, becoming No. 60 Squadron. The squadron was reformed on 16 September 1935 at RAF Catfoss, and later became one of the Pathfinder squadrons in April 1943. Commonly known as the Dambusters, No. 617 Squadron was the squadron that took part in Operation Chastise in May 1943, destroying Nazi factories, mines, and hydro-electric power stations. 617 Squadron was based at RAF Scampton, but often made use of RAF Woodhall Spa during exercises and missions. No. 619 Squadron was a Heavy bomber squadron, initially formed at RAF Woodhall Spa on the 18th April"
"Africa. It remained at Bathurst until 30 June 1945, when it disbanded. The squadron lost 19 Sunderlands during the Second World War. No Axis submarines were sunk by the squadron, although it did claim at least one German Junkers Ju 88 shot down. On 1 August 1947 the squadron was reformed at RAF Station Kabrit, Egypt as a transport squadron and flew Douglas Dakotas, until these were replaced by Vickers Valettas in July 1949. On 20 February 1953, the squadron was disbanded by being renumbered to No. 84 Squadron RAF. The squadron was reformed once more on 1 January 1954"
"Division, travelling to engage the newly landed allied forces in Normandy. The panzers were expected to use the railway to cross the Loire. No. 83 Squadron RAF illuminated the area with flares by four Avro Lancasters and marked the target at low level by three de Havilland Mosquitos. 25 Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron RAF, the ""Dambusters"" then dropped their Tallboys from 18,000 ft with great accuracy. They hit the approaches to the bridge, blocked the railway cutting and one pierced the roof of the tunnel, bringing down a huge quantity of rock and soil which blocked the tunnel, badly"
"the Second World War. Later used again by RAF Bomber Command as a nuclear ballistic missile base during the Cold War it closed to military use in 1967. On 19 March 1940 RAF Hemswell-based Handley Page Hampdens of No. 61 Squadron RAF were the first Bomber Command aircraft to drop bombs on German soil during the Second World War. The target was the Hörnum seaplane base on the northern Germany coast. RAF Hemswell was immortalised on film when it was used as a substitute for RAF Scampton in all the ground-based filming of the 1954 war film The Dambusters. The"
"bomb sight was introduced. By the time the SABS was available, the Mark XIV was in widespread use and proving good enough that there was no pressing need to replace it. The SABS briefly saw use with the Pathfinder Force before being turned over to No. 617 Squadron RAF, the famed ""Dambusters"", starting in November 1943. This squadron's Avro Lancasters were undergoing conversion to dropping the Tallboy bomb as a precision weapon, and required the higher accuracy of the SABS for this mission. In this role the SABS demonstrated superb accuracy, routinely placing bombs within of their targets when dropped"
"and replacement by the F-35, the RAF Lossiemouth-based 15 (Reserve) Squadron (the Tornado Operational Conversion Unit) was disbanded in March 2017. Lightning: On 23 November 2015 it was announced that a total of 138 F-35Bs will be ordered. 617 (The Dambusters) Squadron officially reformed on 18 April 2018 as an RAF Lightning Squadron. The first four aircraft arrived at RAF Marham on 7 June 2018. The Sentry AEW1, based at RAF Waddington, provides airborne early warning to detect incoming enemy aircraft and to co-ordinate the aerial battlefield. The Sentinel R1 (formally known as ASTOR – Airborne STand-Off Radar) provides a"
"It was the version, distributed by Studio Canal, containing shots of the bomber flying into a hill. The film is largely historically accurate, with only a small number of changes made for reasons of dramatic licence. Some errors derive from Paul Brickhill's book, which was written when much detail about the raid was not yet in the public domain. ""The Dambusters"" received a Royal world premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square on 16 May 1955, the twelfth anniversary of the raid. Princess Margaret attended along with Eve Gibson, Guy Gibson's widow and his father. Richard Todd, Barnes Wallis and the"
"and became the first squadron to convert completely to Lancasters, flying their first operational missions in the aircraft on 3 March 1942. Total sorties and losses for the war were: The squadron suffered the third highest overall casualties of RAF Bomber Command. In July 1945 the squadron exchanged places with No. 75 Squadron in RAF Mepal in Cambridgeshire to prepare for transfer to Tiger Force in the Far East for the war on Japan. After the war (from 1946–1947) the squadron was re-equipped with Avro Lincolns, converting to the Boeing Washington (the RAF name for the B-29 Superfortress in British"
"the RAF Officer Training College after the formation of the RAF in April 1918. RAF Swinderby was a Polish-manned RAF station and from 1964, the RAF's main Recruit Training Camp. RAF Scampton, was the home base of 617 Squadron. Lincolnshire still has the strongest claim to being the 'home' of RAF Bomber Command, playing host to many squadrons, including the Lancaster bombers of the famous 617 ""Dambusters"" squadron who were based at RAF Scampton. There were two Bomber Groups based in the county – No. 1 in the north and No. 5 Group in the centre and south. The Battle"
"the Dambusters raid was marked by a flypast of the last operational Lancaster over the cliffs at Reculver, site of secret tests of inventor Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb. (This flight was part of a larger series of flypasts over key locations by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.) On 16 May 2008, Les Munro, the last surviving Squadron Leader, and Richard Todd, star of the celebrated film ""The Dambusters"", attended the 65th Anniversary service and flypast over Ladybower Reservoir. At 100 feet, as compared to 60 feet of the Dambusters' practice runs, a single Lancaster aircraft passed three times over"
"No. 625 Squadron RAF No. 625 Squadron RAF was a heavy bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. The squadron was formed on 1 October 1943 at RAF Kelstern, Lincolnshire from 'C' flight of 100 Squadron. It was equipped with Avro Lancasters, as part of No. 1 Group RAF in Bomber Command, of which it formed part between 18 October 1944 and 25 April 1945. The squadron mainly carried out night raids against Germany. On 5 April 1945, it moved to RAF Scampton. At the end of the war, the squadron dropped food to the"
"a series of newspaper articles written by John Steinbeck during the spring and summer of 1943. Captain Clark Gable had temporary duty at Bassingbourn while producing a gunnery film for the USAAF. It also served as the location for the fictional ""28th Bomb Group"" in the 1950 Humphrey Bogart film ""Chain Lightning"". Away from Hollywood, but still in the movies, RAF Bassingbourn was also the setting for the Airfield-based shots in the 1955 film, ""The Dambusters"", featuring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave. The RAF resumed occupation of Bassingbourn on 26 June 1945, the airfield was officially returned on 10 July"
"No. 550 Squadron RAF No. 550 Squadron RAF was a heavy bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War II. No. 550 squadron was formed at RAF Waltham (near Grimsby), Lincolnshire on 25 November 1943 from 'C' Flight of 100 Squadron. Equipped with Avro Lancasters, they began operating in the same month, as part of No. 1 Group RAF. On 26/27 November, 8 of their Lancasters were dispatched to make bombing runs over Berlin; 7 succeeded, with the other failing to return after the mission. In early 1944, it was moved to RAF North Killingholme, Lincolnshire where it"
"and many other targets, as well as mine-laying in sea traffic lanes. It was also in September 1941 that the Squadron received the proto-type Lancaster bomber, the first squadron of the RAF to receive the new aircraft. On a visit to the Squadron in December, Guest and Meredith were taken on a flight in the new plane. Although the order was given in December to cease operations in the Hampdens, it was not until 3 March 1942 that the Lancaster was put on active service on its first battle mission for the entire RAF. The Squadron, with its Lancasters, was"
"Leader David Maltby, were transferred to 617 Squadron to be part of the secretive Dambusters raid forming at RAF Scampton. The squadron was created to attack the dams of the Ruhr in an effort to wreck the industrial capacity of Germany. It was initially called Squadron ""X"", as the speed of its formation outstripped the RAF process for naming squadrons. Twenty-one bomber crews were selected from existing squadrons in 5 Group. These crews included RAF personnel of several different nationalities, as well as members of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Royal New Zealand"
"landing and died in the desert. British authorities hope to bring the remarkably well-preserved plane back to the RAF Museum in London. No. 260 Squadron RAF No. 260 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron formed as a reconnaissance and anti–submarine unit in World War I and a fighter unit in World War II. No. 260 Squadron Royal Air Force was formed on 25 July 1918 and operated DH.6s from Westward Ho, Devon on anti-submarine patrols and disbanded on 5 March 1919. The squadron reformed on 22 November 1940 at RAF Castletown, Scotland and operated Hawker Hurricanes. It then"
"end of October a Bristol Blenheim fighter and escort Squadron arrived, No. 29 Squadron RAF. With the squadron came the soon-to-be-famous officer Guy Gibson, who would be awarded a Victoria Cross as the commander of the Dambusters. It was Gibson's second tour at Digby as he had learned to fly at the station while attending No. 2 FTS in 1936. Gibson was still based at Digby in 1940 when he was married in Penarth, South Wales; he flew his Blenheim from RAF Wellingore satellite field to RAF Pengam Moors in Cardiff docks for the wedding, returning three days later with"
"in the Pacific and Australia. However, part of the RAF's fleet of ageing Avro Lincolns had been mothballed at Hemswell prior to being broken up and several of these static aircraft appeared in background shots during filming, doubling for additional No 617 Squadron Lancasters. The station headquarters building still stands on what is now an industrial estate and is named Gibson House. The four wartime hangars also still stand, little changed in external appearance since the war. Serving RAF pilots from both squadrons based at Hemswell took turns flying the Lancasters during filming and found the close formation and low"
"World War, a wonderful, wonderful story."" The Dam Busters (film) The Dam Busters is a 1955 British epic war film starring Michael Redgrave and Richard Todd. It was directed by Michael Anderson. The film recreates the true story of Operation Chastise when in 1943 the RAF's 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams in Nazi Germany with Barnes Wallis's ""bouncing bomb"". The film was based on the books ""The Dam Busters"" (1951) by Paul Brickhill and ""Enemy Coast Ahead"" (1946) by Guy Gibson. The film's reflective last minutes convey the poignant mix of emotions felt by the characters"
"transport and survey duties before disbanding on 1 June 1946. Flight Sergeant Stanley James Woodbridge, a wireless operator who served with 159 squadron, was awarded the George Cross posthumously in 1948. Woodbridge had steadfastly refused to divulge his codes and other details of his radio equipment to his Japanese captors. Woodbridge was tortured and eventually beheaded along with three other members of his crew Wing Commander James Blackburn DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, DFC (US)[1] (1916–1993) was a Royal Air Force officer who completed a record five tours of operations during World War II. No. 159 Squadron RAF No."
"occupying forces until August 1919, when it again returned to the UK for disbandment on 7 November 1919 at Netheravon. During the war, the squadron claimed 298 victories. Twenty-five aces had served in the squadron. Notable among them were Anthony Arnold, Charles Dawson Booker, Robert J. O. Compston, Harold Day, Stanley Goble, Edward Grahame Johnstone, William Lancelot Jordan, Robert A. Little, William E. G. Mann, Richard Munday, Guy William Price, George Simpson, Reginald Soar, Ronald Thornley, and James White. The squadron re-formed at RAF Ismailia in Egypt on 1 February 1920 by the renumbering of No. 113 Squadron RAF. It"
"of 13 Lancasters. Following its last raid on 25 April 1945 against Berchtesgaden it concentrated on dropping relief supplies into the Netherlands and transporting prisoners of war and troops back to England from Germany. With its job done it was disbanded on 14 November 1945. There is a 170 Sqn. memorial at the former RAF Hemswell site. 1945 - Sqn Ldr Basil Templeman-Rooke 1944-19945 - Pilot Officer Robert Byron Pattison No. 170 Squadron RAF No. 170 Squadron RAF was a Second World War Royal Air Force squadron that operated the North American Mustang in the fighter-reconnaissance role and later the"
"war film ""Appointment in London"" (released in the U.S. as ""Raiders in the Sky"") directed by Philip Leacock and starring Dirk Bogarde. Three Lancasters were used in the production—""NX673"", ""NX679"" and ""NX782"", the same three that were used in the filming of ""The Dam Busters"" three years later. The Lancaster was central to the second half of the 1955 British film ""The Dam Busters"". This is a dramatisation of the real-life Operation Chastise, which included the forming of No. 617 Squadron RAF commanded by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, who was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), and the bombing of the"
"1919. During the course of the war, ten aces served in the squadron, including Henry Woollett, Cecil Frederick King, John Lightfoot Trollope, Geoffrey Bailey, Harold Balfour, Charles C. Banks, Hector Daniel, George Lingham, and John Womersley. ( Robert Johnstone Owen). The squadron was re-formed at RAF Henlow on 1 July 1925, (or 1 July 1923), once again equipped with Snipes. In 1926, the squadron converted to Gamecocks, thus inspiring the squadron badge and the nickname ""The Fighting Cocks"". The black and white checkered markings also date from this era. The squadron flew Siskins from 1928 and received the first production"
"it became one of the original pathfinder squadrons, converting to Lancasters in January 1943. It continued in the pathfinder role until the end of the war, being based at RAF Warboys, RAF Upwood and finally its original founding base, RAF Wyton, where it disbanded on 25 September 1945. There is a memorial to the crash of Avro Lancaster ED840, 156 Squadron, which crashed in the town in Lier, Belgium on 17 June 1943. It was on a mission to Cologne when it was shot down by anti-aircraft fire. No. 156 Squadron RAF No. 156 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air"
"effective squadrons of Bomber Command, personified by No 617 Squadron the ""Dambusters"", formed from 5 Group aircrew in March 1943. Most of the group's main airfields were around Lincoln, including RAF Scampton. By the end of the war the group had grown to 15 squadrons. The group was noted for its high accuracy bombing, being involved the sinking of the ""Tirpitz"" in November 1944 and the shattering of the strategic Bielefeld railway viaduct in March 1945. The Group introduced new weapons operationally, including Barnes Wallis's ""bouncing"" and his Tallboy and Grand Slam ""earthquake"" bombs. The group was disbanded on 15"
"One of the most anticipated highlights of the show included a special ""Dambusters Tribute Flypast"" featuring an Avro Lancaster of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight accompanied by a Panavia Tornado and Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft, all operated by the No. 617 Squadron RAF. Other flying highlights included displays by the US Air Force Heritage Flight; a Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27; a Royal Canadian Air Force McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet; a French Aeronavale Dassault Rafale duo; the Italian Air Force's Frecce Tricolori aerobatic display team, and the RAF's Red Arrows. Visitors on Saturday were treated to a"