Interview with George Leonard Johnson

British officer served as bomb aimer with 97 Sqdn, No 5 Group, Bomber Command, RAF in GB, 8/1942-3/1943; bomb aimer served with 617 Sqdn, No 5 Group, Bomber Command, RAF in GB, 3/1943-4/1944 including Operation Chastise, the Dambusters Raid on the Sorpe Dam, Germany, 16/5/1943-17/5/1943

REEL 1 Background in Hamerington and Langford, GB, 1921-1939: family; education; reaction to declaration of Second World War 3/9/1939. Aspects of enlistment and training with Royal Air Force in GB and United States of America, 1940-1942: German Air Force attack on Basingstoke Railway Station, 1940; volunteering for service with Royal Air Force, 6/11/1940; reasons for volunteering; flying training at Carlston Field, Arcadia, United States of America, 1941; being dropped from pilots course; Royal Air Force trainees objection to petty United States Army Air Force discipline; relations between British and American personnel; United States Army Air Force methods of instruction; air gunner training at No 4 Air Gunnery School, RAF at RAF Morpeth including training in Blackburn Botha, opinion of Blackburn Botha and techniques of air gunnery. Recollection of operations as air gunner and bomb aimer with 97 Sqdn, No 5 Group, Bomber Command, RAF in GB, 8/1942-3/1943: posting to RAF Woodhall Spa, 8/1942; operating as air gunner; training as bomb aimer, 1942; role of bomb aimer; use of Mk XIV Bomb Sight; language used by bomb aimer; reaction to sight of anti-aircraft fire over target; types of marker used on operations; how first operation was aborted over North Sea. REEL 2 Continues: nature of defences over the Ruhr, Germany; successful delivery of 8000 lb high explosive bomb during operation to Nüremberg though bomb mistakenly dropped on Augsburg, Germany; aircraft struck by lightening during raid on Wismar, Germany; sight of Italian Air Force biplane fighter during daylight raid on Genoa, Italy; preference for active role as bomb aimer rather than air gunner's job; loss of port inner engine during raid on Berlin, Germany and aircraft landing with two engines, RAF Tangmere; morale in unit; incident of comrade who became nervous on last operation; opinion of Royal Air Force's use of term Lack of Moral Fibre (LMF). Recollections of operations as bomb aimer with 617 Sqdn, No Group, Bomber Command, RAF during Operation Chastise, the Dambusters Raid, Germany, 16/5/1943-17/5/1943: move to squadron, 3/1943; special bomb sight which was developed for Operation Chastise; arrival and reaction to special aircraft for raid; mechanism for rotating bombs; means of ensuring bombs dropped at 60 feet; locations of practice drops in GB; briefing for attack on Sorpe Dam, Germany which was to be attacked differently from other dam targets; delay caused by transfer to reserve aircraft; incident of aircraft being hit after opening fire on armoured goods train. REEL 3 Continues: attack on Sorpe Dam, Germany; making ten attacks before releasing bomb; view of damage to Sorpe Dam, Germany; fate of other aircraft due to attack Sorpe Dam, Germany; sight of inland sea caused by breach of Möhne Dam, Germany; damage to aircraft's right wing discovered on return to RAF Scampton; feelings of satisfaction and sadness on return to GB; memories of Barnes Wallis, Guy Gibson, Leonard Cheshire, Harold 'Mick' Martin, Joe McCarthy and other characters in 617 Sqdn; attending Buckingham Palace investiture after Operation Chastise. Recollections of operations as bomb aimer with 617 Sqdn, No 5 Group, Bomber Command, RAF, 5/1943-4/1944: use of stabilised automatic bomb sight; low-level attack on Italian transformer stations in which aircraft was hit; Leonard Cheshire's role target marking ammunition factory in France; abortive trip to drop arms to French Resistance; return from operation with 12,000 lb bomb still hung up and reason it was not released automatically; condition he was in when he finished his tour. REEL 4 Continues: period of instructing after operational tour; attitude to post-war criticisms of work of Bomber Command, especially value of Dambusters Raid and role of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Harris.