Daren
Wing Leader is the biography of RAF Spitfire pilot JE Johnson, known as Johnnie Johnson during World War II.
Johnson has a way of writing that often takes you on his journey. Remarkably, when he describes flight after flight and explains events that are occurring around him in flight during flying maneuvers with his 'wing' or individual dogfights, it doesn't feel to the reader like constant repetition, although of course it is the same sequence of events almost every time.
Johnson's diaries must have been extensive because he describes the many pilots around him, the many flights and enemy engagements in great detail, often dropping out of the story of one polit to pick it up again later when he returns to the scene. He had kind words to all of those lost, their bravery and sacrifice, and manages to surprise when some of the pilots find their way back overland when considered lost.
He describes the evolution of the Spitfire, as the planes are constantly improved throughout he war, as are the enemy planes, and as the technology improves one side gains the upper hand and certain maneuvers and so tactics have to change accordingly.
While luck plays a large part in the successful career of a fighter pilot, and how well your colleagues protect you is a big factor, we know too few of these pilots survived the entire war, and Johnson has a plethora of post-nominals (CB, CBE, DSO & Two Bars, DFC & Bar, DL) indicating his efforts, dedication and luck.
Having read the diaries of a New Zealand Spitfire pilot in Spitfires & Spots translated from the handwritten remnants and edited by Jeff West's grandson Jameson Alex West it was nice to be reminded of that book, and for 15 or so pages the two flew together before West was deployed to Malta. Johnson's flying was over the Channel and into German occupied Europe (France, Belgium and later Germany). Throughout most of his time he was flying with Canadians as part of
Wikipedia did a better job of collecting statistics that I would, so I will quote it here: Johnson was credited with 34 individual victories over enemy aircraft, as well as seven shared victories, 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. Included in his list of individual victories were 14 Messerschmitt Bf 109s and 20 Focke-Wulf Fw 190s destroyed making him the most successful RAF ace against the Fw 190. This score made him the highest scoring Western Allied fighter ace against the German Luftwaffe.
There are a number of black & white photos throughout the book, and a thorough index. Douglas Bader wrote a brief foreword, which he opens with the sentence: 'Dear Johnnie, I did not know that you could read and write!..."
4 stars
Wing Leader is the biography of RAF Spitfire pilot JE Johnson, known as Johnnie Johnson during World War II.
Johnson has a way of writing that often takes you on his journey. Remarkably, when he describes flight after flight and explains events that are occurring around him in flight during flying maneuvers with his 'wing' or individual dogfights, it doesn't feel to the reader like constant repetition, although of course it is the same sequence of events almost every time.
Johnson's diaries must have been extensive because he describes the many pilots around him, the many flights and enemy engagements in great detail, often dropping out of the story of one polit to pick it up again later when he returns to the scene. He had kind words to all of those lost, their bravery and sacrifice, and manages to surprise when some of the pilots find their way back overland when considered lost.
He describes the evolution of the Spitfire, as the planes are constantly improved throughout he war, as are the enemy planes, and as the technology improves one side gains the upper hand and certain maneuvers and so tactics have to change accordingly.
While luck plays a large part in the successful career of a fighter pilot, and how well your colleagues protect you is a big factor, we know too few of these pilots survived the entire war, and Johnson has a plethora of post-nominals (CB, CBE, DSO & Two Bars, DFC & Bar, DL) indicating his efforts, dedication and luck.
Having read the diaries of a New Zealand Spitfire pilot in Spitfires & Spots translated from the handwritten remnants and edited by Jeff West's grandson Jameson Alex West it was nice to be reminded of that book, and for 15 or so pages the two flew together before West was deployed to Malta. Johnson's flying was over the Channel and into German occupied Europe (France, Belgium and later Germany). Throughout most of his time he was flying with Canadians as part of
Wikipedia did a better job of collecting statistics that I would, so I will quote it here: Johnson was credited with 34 individual victories over enemy aircraft, as well as seven shared victories, 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. Included in his list of individual victories were 14 Messerschmitt Bf 109s and 20 Focke-Wulf Fw 190s destroyed making him the most successful RAF ace against the Fw 190. This score made him the highest scoring Western Allied fighter ace against the German Luftwaffe.
There are a number of black & white photos throughout the book, and a thorough index. Douglas Bader wrote a brief foreword, which he opens with the sentence: 'Dear Johnnie, I did not know that you could read and write!..."
4 stars