第二次世界大战之惩戒行动(是1943年5月16日至17日对纳粹德国的一次袭击)英女皇伊丽莎白二世颁发之飞行优异十字勋章
Sold by Order of a Direct Descendant Then we were instructed to bomb and I think we made perhaps three trial runs before we made our final attack. Les Knight was very good and got us down quickly to a low level, and we had a good run-in. I could clearly see the towers and I was quite happy with my bomb-sight and position – and I released the bomb... I didn’t actually see the Dam burst because I was out of sight, being in the front of the aircraft – but it was obvious what had happened by the noise on the intercom from the rear gunner, and everybody else who could see anything was going mad on the intercom, because the centre had fallen out of the dam and the water was absolutely pouring down this narrow river, causing a veritable tidal wave, and we forgot all about safety and going home and we were trying to follow the water down the river to see what happened. It was a terrifying sight. We could see cars being engulfed, then Gibson called up and said, ‘Well, it’s all right boys, you’re having a good time – but we’ve still got to get back to base. Let’s go.’
Johnson recalls the famous bouncing bomb he delivered perfectly to breach the Eder Dam The historically important immediate 1943 Operation Chastise D.F.C. group of five awarded to Flight Lieutenant E. C. Johnnie Johnson, No. 617 Squadron, Royal Air Force Having begun his career with a full Tour in No. 50 Squadron in the crew of Sergeant (later Flight Lieutenant) L. G. Les Knight, Royal Australian Air Force, Johnson soon established himself as a Bomb Aimer of considerable skill, being marked out as a member of an Ace Crew and gaining early appointment as Squadron Bombing Leader; the outstanding ability of the crew was recognised and they were soon recruited for the Dams Raid by Guy Gibson, under whom Johnson had served earlier in his career Considered one of the grandads of the Squadron, Johnson soon made a valuable contribution to the overall operation when inventing the Johnson Sight which would be used to great effect to provide the precise delivery of the new invention of Barnes Wallis - namely his bouncing bomb On that famous night Johnson was part of the main Strike Force under Gibson himself and was a witness to the breaching of the Möhne; his opportunity soon presented itself when Knights crew were called to centre stage
They made several low-level dummy runs into the Eder Dam, each pass being a hair-raising event of high danger due to the steep climb required to bring the aircraft away from the surrounding terrain; their final run was pitch-perfect and Johnson delivered his Upkeep with total precision to score the direct hit that breached the Eder Dam, earning his immediate D.F.C. in the process and also keeping a remarkable souvenir from that night Recovered from ...the biggest party of all time, Johnson would be required to take to his parachute to save his life during the costly raid on the Dortmund-Ems Canal (Operation Garlic) in September 1943, making his way back to London after assistance from the good folk of Holland, Belgium and France and their underground networks Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., the reverse officially dated 1943 and additionally inscribed E.C.J. 16/17 May, on its investiture pin; 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, the campaign group mounted as worn, good very fine (5)
