james edgar johnnie johnson spitfire 9 ix en398

James Edgar Johnson, CB, CBE, DSO & Two Bars, DFC & Bar, DL (9 March 1915 – 30 January 2001), nicknamed “Johnnie”, was an English Royal Air Force pilot and flying ace who flew and fought during the Second World War.

He took part in the offensive sweeps over German-occupied Europe from 1941 to 1944 and was involved in heavy aerial fighting. His combat tour included the Dieppe Raid, Combined Bomber Offensive, Battle of Normandy, Operation Market Garden, the Battle of the Bulge and the Western Allied invasion of Germany.

Johnson was credited with 34 victories over enemy aircraft, as well as seven shared , three shared probable, ten damaged, three shared damaged and one destroyed on the ground. Johnson flew 700 operational sorties and engaged enemy aircraft on 57 occasions. His list of individual victories included 14 Bf 109s and 20 Focke-Wulf Fw 190s  making him the most successful RAF ace against the Fw 190. He was the highest scoring Western Allied fighter ace against the German Luftwaffe.