"Not My Turn To Die"
On June 26,1943, Robert S. Johnson was one in a flight of sixteen P-47 Thunderbolts assigned to
escort B-24 bombers to their target. Bob was the first to sight approximately sixteen Focke-Wulf
190's approaching his group from 5 o'clock high but was not able to get any response from his
group when he tried to warn them over the radio. On a previous mission he had been the first to
sight enemy fighters and broke formation to attack them, successfully breaking up the attack and
claiming his first victory. However, he was severely chastised for this by the Wing Cmdr. and was
told never to break formation again, no matter what. So this occasion he held his position and on
the first pass of the enemy fighters six Thunderbolts were shot down, including Bob’s ship “Half
Pint".
His aircraft fell out of control for several thousand feet and was on fire. The fire extinguished itself
and Bob regained control of the aircraft. He had not worn his goggles that day ( the only time he
did this) and his eyes were soaked in hydraulic fluid making it difficult to see. He had two bullet
fragments in his right leg. Another bullet had nicked his nose and shattered part of the wind
screen. Bob tried to bail out but discovered that metal behind the cockpit had been splintered in
such a way as to prevent the canopy from sliding back more than six inches. With a parachute on
there was obviously not enough space to slip through to safety. The only option left was to try to
fly the Thunderbolt home, or at least to friendly territory, if the aircraft could make it. Somewhere
over France another Focke-Wulf 190 spotted Bob flying alone and made a firing pass at him. The
Fw-190 had only 7.9mm ammo on board and although every round of it was fired into Bob's plane,
the German was not able to finish the job. The German pilot then realized Johnson's rather
defenseless position and decided to pull in close to inspect his would-be quarry. The German
pulled his left wing in behind Bob's right wing so that the wingtips of each plane were but a few
feet from touching each other's fuselage. >From his close vantage point, the German calmly
inspected Bob's plane from nose to tail and shook his head, not understanding how the P-47
could still fly so perfectly. Bob kept looking over at the German pilot. He was a good looking man
with blue eyes. He was not a rookie. He projected confidence and had somewhat of an aristocratic
air about him. Occasionally their gazes met. Bob could clearly see the German pilot and noticed
he was wearing a light blue leather or suede flying jacket with a white scarf wrapped around his
neck and tucked into the jacket. He had on a dark brown summer style flying helmet and his black
shatter-proof goggles were pushed up above his forehead. In this manner the two men flew
alongside each other for almost 30 minutes. When reaching the the English channel near Dieppe,
France, The German pilot looked over at Bob one last time. He raised a black-gloved hand and
saluted Bob, then peeled off to the right to head for his own base, presumably Abbeville, the home
of JG26. Bob flew on toward toward the English coastline, constantly in radio contact with a
coastal air controller. He was low over the water now and thought he might have to ditch into the
channel. Surprisingly, he was able to gain enough altitude to clear the cliffs and was vectored to
the nearest airfield by the controller. Bob declined, opting to fly to his own airfield. He landed
safely, but his Thunderbolt had to be scrapped. It had over 210 holes in it, with at least twenty
being deadly 20mm cannon rounds which had initially
brought him down. He walked into HQ for debriefing and a shot of bourbon just in time to hear a
live radio interview on a German radio station that some officers had tuned in. It was the German
pilot who had just flown with him! Although they did not get his name, Bob was sure from the
interview that it was the same pilot from his description of events. The German mentioned Bob's
identification letters on the side of the Thunderbolt. He thought that Bob must have crashed into
the Channel due to his low altitude and the amount of damage to his aircraft. It is believed that the
German pilot was Georg Peter Eder of JG2 who was ferrying a JG26 aircraft that day.
escort B-24 bombers to their target. Bob was the first to sight approximately sixteen Focke-Wulf
190's approaching his group from 5 o'clock high but was not able to get any response from his
group when he tried to warn them over the radio. On a previous mission he had been the first to
sight enemy fighters and broke formation to attack them, successfully breaking up the attack and
claiming his first victory. However, he was severely chastised for this by the Wing Cmdr. and was
told never to break formation again, no matter what. So this occasion he held his position and on
the first pass of the enemy fighters six Thunderbolts were shot down, including Bob’s ship “Half
Pint".
His aircraft fell out of control for several thousand feet and was on fire. The fire extinguished itself
and Bob regained control of the aircraft. He had not worn his goggles that day ( the only time he
did this) and his eyes were soaked in hydraulic fluid making it difficult to see. He had two bullet
fragments in his right leg. Another bullet had nicked his nose and shattered part of the wind
screen. Bob tried to bail out but discovered that metal behind the cockpit had been splintered in
such a way as to prevent the canopy from sliding back more than six inches. With a parachute on
there was obviously not enough space to slip through to safety. The only option left was to try to
fly the Thunderbolt home, or at least to friendly territory, if the aircraft could make it. Somewhere
over France another Focke-Wulf 190 spotted Bob flying alone and made a firing pass at him. The
Fw-190 had only 7.9mm ammo on board and although every round of it was fired into Bob's plane,
the German was not able to finish the job. The German pilot then realized Johnson's rather
defenseless position and decided to pull in close to inspect his would-be quarry. The German
pulled his left wing in behind Bob's right wing so that the wingtips of each plane were but a few
feet from touching each other's fuselage. >From his close vantage point, the German calmly
inspected Bob's plane from nose to tail and shook his head, not understanding how the P-47
could still fly so perfectly. Bob kept looking over at the German pilot. He was a good looking man
with blue eyes. He was not a rookie. He projected confidence and had somewhat of an aristocratic
air about him. Occasionally their gazes met. Bob could clearly see the German pilot and noticed
he was wearing a light blue leather or suede flying jacket with a white scarf wrapped around his
neck and tucked into the jacket. He had on a dark brown summer style flying helmet and his black
shatter-proof goggles were pushed up above his forehead. In this manner the two men flew
alongside each other for almost 30 minutes. When reaching the the English channel near Dieppe,
France, The German pilot looked over at Bob one last time. He raised a black-gloved hand and
saluted Bob, then peeled off to the right to head for his own base, presumably Abbeville, the home
of JG26. Bob flew on toward toward the English coastline, constantly in radio contact with a
coastal air controller. He was low over the water now and thought he might have to ditch into the
channel. Surprisingly, he was able to gain enough altitude to clear the cliffs and was vectored to
the nearest airfield by the controller. Bob declined, opting to fly to his own airfield. He landed
safely, but his Thunderbolt had to be scrapped. It had over 210 holes in it, with at least twenty
being deadly 20mm cannon rounds which had initially
brought him down. He walked into HQ for debriefing and a shot of bourbon just in time to hear a
live radio interview on a German radio station that some officers had tuned in. It was the German
pilot who had just flown with him! Although they did not get his name, Bob was sure from the
interview that it was the same pilot from his description of events. The German mentioned Bob's
identification letters on the side of the Thunderbolt. He thought that Bob must have crashed into
the Channel due to his low altitude and the amount of damage to his aircraft. It is believed that the
German pilot was Georg Peter Eder of JG2 who was ferrying a JG26 aircraft that day.
Prints available: L/E of 750, 28 x 23 inches
Signed by Robert S. Johnson, and the artist
SOLD OUT
Signed by Robert S. Johnson, and the artist
SOLD OUT
Here at Ozark Airfield Artworks we offer a large selection art prints. These prints
mainly depict modern and historic aviation along with military, civil and space flight. We
also deal with naval subjects and military armor and infantry works. These prints are
from all the top national and international artists along with some local artists. Many of
our prints are signed by the artist and by famous pilots and veterans. If you are looking
for a specific plane, pilot, artist or subject please contact us.
mainly depict modern and historic aviation along with military, civil and space flight. We
also deal with naval subjects and military armor and infantry works. These prints are
from all the top national and international artists along with some local artists. Many of
our prints are signed by the artist and by famous pilots and veterans. If you are looking
for a specific plane, pilot, artist or subject please contact us.
Copyright © Ozark Airfield Artworks 2005 All Rights Reserved
All images are copyrighted by the individual artist and may not be
reproduced without their consent.
reproduced without their consent.
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