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lesofprimus
Brigadier General
Ummm....... Look at the list above. He's already there.... Molders I can add with no questions asked..........
Bob Johnson is another matter.... If u go back and read all these threads, or atleast the beginnings of them, u will see write ups on all the guys and whatnot that i copy/pasted..... I dont know if Bob Johnson would actually get any votes, and space is limited on th epoll at 15 Aces.....
Here.........
Johnson flew 91 missions with the 56th Fighter Group, all in razorback P-47C's and D's. The group, later nicknamed Zemke's Wof Pack, flew it's first mission on 13 April 1943. Johnson scored his first "kill," a Focke Wulf FW 190, on 13 June northwest of Ypres, Belgium. On that day, the 56th took off from Horsham St Faith at 0900 hours for a sweep over Gravelines, Bailleul, Aeltre and Knocke. While flying at 27,000-feet (8,230 meters) east of Bruges , the group spotted about 20 FW 190's at about 20,000-feet (6,096 meters). Leading the first section of the 61st Fighter Squadron, Zemke took the seven P-47's in a dive to attack a four-plane FW 190 section. They approached undetected from astern and Zemke shot down one; opened fire on a second aircraft and saw hits on the wings before it dived away; and then found himself on the tail of a third FW 190 which he shot down. Johnson spotted the FW 190's at the same time as Zemke and dived out of formation, attacked the leader of the section and shot him down. But Johnson broke one of the cardinal rules of air combat, i.e., you do not leave the formation. In the politically correct 1990's we would say that Johnson was coached by fellow members of the group for his indiscretion; in the politically incorrect 1940's we would say Johnson got his ass chewed out by Zemke.
On 26 June 1943, the 56th was one of three groups tasked with supporting B-17's attacking targets in France. Johnson's aircraft took 21 cannon shells from a FW 190 and he was burned, blinded and wounded in the right leg and nose. He attempted to bail out but could not get the canopy open so he headed back to England. Over the English Channel, another FW 190 flown by Oberst Egon Mayer of J.G. 2 attacked Johnson's crippled aircraft. Mayer had exhausted his cannon ammunition and began shooting up the P-47 with machine gun fire. When Mayer ran out of ammunition, he pulled alongside, wagged his wings and peeled off. Johnson made it as far as Manston, Kent and landed the P-47C-2-RE, USAAF s/n 41-6235 "All Hell," coded HV-P; the aircraft was a write off.
Johnson got his second victory on 19 August 1943; in October 1943, he got three more making him an ace. In November 1943, he got two and three in December making him a double ace. The year 1944 was a banner year for him; he got four in January, two in February and six in March. He was promoted to Captain in April and got three aircraft that month and two more on his last mission on 8 May 1944 giving him a total of 27, the first USAAF pilot in Europe to break Eddie Rickenbacker's World War I record. He was also the second USAAF pilot to break Rickenbacker's record; Richard I. Bong shot down his 26th Japanese aircraft on 11 April 1944. After his 27th victory, Johnson was promoted to Major and transferred to the 62d Fighter Squadron as Operations Officer. He never flew another combat mission.
Because of his record number of "kills," Johnson was ordered home for War Bond tours and departed England on 6 June 1944. He was reunited with his wife Barbara on his return and both he and his wife reported to the White House where they was greeted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Later that day, he and his wife appeared in the visitors' gallery of the US Senate and the senators rose and gave him a standing ovation. The day was topped off by having tea with Eleanor Roosevelt at the White House.
The next day, Johnson went to the Republic plant at Farmingdale, Long Island, New York where he again was applauded by thousands of workers who were building P-47's.
For his accomplishments in WWII, Major Johnson was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (the Army's second highest award), the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medals and the Purple Heart.
Johnson's record of 27 victories makes him:
1. Tied for second highest number of victories in the European Theater of Operations, and
2. Tied for fourth highest number of victories in the USAAF during WWII, and
3. Tied for fourth highest number of victories in the Air Service/AAC/AAF/USAF Aces of all wars. .
