HERO, pure and simple.

What a hero.A man’s man.❤

Absolute legend of the skies!. Whenever i think of ww2, whilst flying sims or reading books about the pilits and aircraft my mind always thinks of him and his stories. Because i took such interest at a young age, when i was really still a kid i think listening to him pretty much created my idea of what a pilot should be, charasmatic and assured, but always ready to laugh, plays down what must have been moments we would class as pure terror as "a bit of bad business". He exudes confidence and that spark that only these legendary veterans seem to have always ready to correct an error etc, i just love listening to him, a proper hero! , its hard to quantify but hes burned into my mind thats for sure. I cant believe its been 22 years since he passed! I have taken every opertunity that came my way to watch his interviews and i suppose i dont want to think that he isnt here anymore. Thank god we can still listen to his stories and that people took the chance to interview him, and of course, all the veterans. It would be a tragedy if it was lost to time. Thanks to everyone who did these films, and those who have since released them to the internet etc Now new generations can learn of him (and others from ww2) and im sure it will fill them with pride and admiration just as it did for myself and my generation. Thanks "Johnnie" RIP

Honestly, JEJ is an absolute legend.

When the sound of a real phone rang in the back ground I swear I thought, he looked up as if to say, 'Not a Scramble is it?'. RIP Sir, your endeavors are the reason we can sit here and watch this amazing re counting.

We owe those men our Liberty. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿❤️👍🏻

@johnhanson5943

2 ай бұрын

Correct and now we need new MEN to step up - and save us from an establishment under the influence of the same oligarchic bloodlines (evil cultists) which assisted the Nazis and other gnostic cults of terror / destruction. The enemy is now within!

Superb interview with a very special warrior of the skies, thank you.

Reading ' Wing Leader' at the moment. Highly recommended.

@WilttsWiltts

4 ай бұрын

His diary book is fascinating, reading his logs is an ominous thing but a feeling of courage rubs off on one

No nonsense here. Candid. That's how he enabled others to fight and survive. A true hero.

I need to listen to this at least twice more. A detailed account straight forward aiming at accuracy without either exagerration or excessive modesty.. Excellent.

@benlewis2475

2 жыл бұрын

Now on my third viewing

@WilttsWiltts

4 ай бұрын

Im here again. Do you people know why he's called greycap?

Funny thing, I hadn’t seen this interview before. I worked for Johnnie as a young lad in the Johnnie Johnson Housing Trust. I always marvelled at what a crap driver he was! And how we’d sit together interviewing people, and all he’d talk about was what the interviewee’s husband or parents did during the war, and he’d sit with his hand down his trousers, scratching like a badger, seemingly oblivious to it! Wonderful chap, wonderful stories. Had a chap called Bert Broadhurst as his sort of “lackey” or Batman in civilian life at Johnnie Johnson Housing Trust. Taciturn old chap, Johnnie used to fire him at least twice a day. Met Bader a couple of times, not personally, but Johnnie was still in awe of the guy. In later years I got my pilots licence and night, instrument, aerobatic rating, just recreational flying, and goodness knows I wish JEJ had been alive then, I’d have a slightly better idea of what he went through, and would have found him even more fascinating than I already did. Lovely to have shared time with him though. I’ve also been out for a pizza with John Surtees. Equally fascinating with many parallels!

@georgielancaster1356

10 ай бұрын

Oh You lucky devil, having those years of close contact. I so wish I could buy you lunch and listen to your stories! Plus the stories you heard! Bader was an appalling driver, too.

@georgielancaster1356

10 ай бұрын

You had me chuckling at the thought of him scratching like a badger - in front of women, as well? I can imagine there would be hesitancy in shaking hands, as you left. I'd be slack mouthed in disbelief... How does a war hero spend half an hour scratching his bits, through an interview? Bit like an AO Monty Python skit!

His book is a superb read. RIP Sir.

Wow.Respect !Makes me proud to be able to call myself an English man!

@lucidmoment71

2 жыл бұрын

It's so sad that in England now that's one thing you can't call yourself.

What a superb man! His book is well worth a read.

Excellent, very good interview well done thank you.

The epitome of the English fighting spirit , I salute and thank you for your service and every other fighting man and woman who ever took the oath and fought for our once great nation ...

Wonderful interview, one cannot underestimate the bravery of these chaps. Sometimes it is thought to be a wholly British affair but of course the contribution made by pilots from the territories and other parts of the world including those exiled from German-occupied Europe were crucial.

Excellent interview of a great man. Lovely manners of interviewer must also be noted.

What a fantastic interview. Had all his marbles. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿❤️

What a great sense of humor. A man who has seen and accomplished a great deal. I have read his books but its so much better to here and see him. Thank you for the posting.

Hi David He was and still is a hero of mine, I used to make Radio controlled scale ,model aircraft, I built a 1/6 th model of his aircraft J EJ in midlife I fly fished in Derbyshire and learned that he fished on the same river, one day I arrived at the car park to see his Range Rover parked, J E J??? needless to say I did little fishing but spent most of the day roaming the banks to find him, he was the most charming man, a true Gentleman, I still feel so very privileged to have met him He does have a few books published, worth hunting for Kind regards Tony Hall

@jasont6287

3 жыл бұрын

hes a hero of mine too i still his have his book wingleader

@jasont6287

3 жыл бұрын

from 30 years ago

A really good interview of the great man. The interviewer was well prepared which helped.

At the time of writing this comment a fantastic mural on the side of a large terrace has just been completed, it really is impressive as was the man himself , it's in the town of Loughborough on the corner of Great central road which is where the train station is and still runs the steam locos , well worth a visit...

@hazed1009

6 ай бұрын

And that's Loughborough, pronounced luff-bar-ra for our American visitors not Loo-gar-baroo-gar as a young American tourist once said to a taxi driver asking directions! 😂 I'm sure that would have tickled Johnnie as much as it does anyone used to our strangely spelled English place names! I saw that mural, opersite a primary school, fantastic.

Absolute legend rip sir

The greatest Britain ever / may he rest in peace 👍

'Greycap' briliant made my day..✌

His comments on Buerling were interesting. He wanted to do what was done with Josef Frantisek. Make Franticek an honorary member of the Polish sqn, have him as a welcome guest, and let him free to hunt as he liked, after take off. It is great that people recognised great skills, and personalities that did not do well as team players. Pity Beurling did not get that chance. JJ says he felt B should have had that chance, but clearly, it never happened with JJ - and his successor reacted more inflexibly.

@britishamerican4321

9 ай бұрын

Yes, and I remember that that was exactly Beurling's request: a long-range P51 Mustang for "freelancing" into Europe and Germany itself, maybe with a wingman or two for support.

Johnnie Johnson Second world war fighter ace credited with more enemy 'kills' than any other British pilot Aug 1/ aug 6 2022 RAF CLUB Founded 1918 PICADDILLY LONDON I was at RAF CLUB TWICE for my daughter wedding to a British MD surgeon from London! I saluted with champaign to JJ at the bar bar with Churchill! JJ, with many other RAF legendary aces like Bader and Sailor Malan looking at their portraits and saying cheers!

He is a British version of PAF’s AC MM ALAM🎉

Interesting fact Mccudden WW I most victories and J Jonson WW II both joined the RAF/RFC as engine mechanics.

Take that phone off the hook !

What a chap!

Spits against 109s and fw190s bollocks ILL TAKE THE PILOTS 🤜 got bless our lads all day fucking long. They'll never out turn a spitfire! Beautiful

@wrathofatlantis2316

8 ай бұрын

Below 250 mph both German types did out-turn all the Spitfire Marks, especially the 190... Johnny Johnson himself describes a prolonged low speed turnfight near the water with a 190, and the only thing that saved him was a British ship firing at his pursuer... He described being out-turned as "inevitable". Clostermann pointed out the Spit out-turned the Germans only above 260, and that turning below that mattered more. He called the Spit turning well "a die hard myth".. The Mark V could hold its own by making a faster wider circle, but then it had to stall itself for a moment to take brief pot shots at the smaller German circles. The IX and XIV were much better used on the vertical, and quite good that way.

Need lenard Cheshire next 👍

As well as writing a few books himself Dilip Sarkar has also written a few great books on Johnnie and his life. Highly recommended The first one is called Johnnie Johnson Spitfire Top Gun Part One 👍

Amazing- loved it.

Great interview!

What a brilliant interview

Dude wrote a few good books too. Highly recommend Wing Leader. His autobiography . I remember his account of duelling with an Fw 190 that turned the tables on him and had Johny running for his life. He saved himself by diving down on the ships off Normandy beach and hoped the AA gunners would save him, or kill them both. No quarter given, or asked for !

@nicholasforman1195

10 ай бұрын

The Luftwaffe hardly existed at D-Day .

@wrathofatlantis2316

8 ай бұрын

​@@nicholasforman1195The account he mentions occurred earlier, around 1943.

@nicholasforman1195

8 ай бұрын

@@wrathofatlantis2316 oh ok thanks for that.A bit of a shock for fighter command when the 190 first arrived I think.An uncle,Michael Forman,took a ricochet on the knee from one at Arnhem in September ‘44.As a 23 year old company commander with the KOSB his job.as part of the air landing brigade was to protect the drop zone(s) for the Paras first drop.

@ToddSauve

20 күн бұрын

@@wrathofatlantis2316 IIRC, it was during the Dieppe raid in August, 1942. He was flying a Spitfire V.

Sadly, that generation is no longer with us.

LEGEND

I think I'm right in saying Johnnie Johnson had the highest score in the RAF in the second world war, a real hero and a gentleman. Thank you for posting this.

@59ogre

3 жыл бұрын

You are indeed correct.34 aerial victories.14 Me-109's and 20 Fw-190's.

@chilipepper61

3 жыл бұрын

Second highest. Top RAF ace was Marmaduke Pattle who shot down between 40 and 60 German and Italian planes - 15 of them whilst flying an obsolete Gladiator biplane!

@michaelhardy8843

5 ай бұрын

Actually no Sailor Malan had highest score for battle Britain 27, and Pat Pattle 40 + more likely 60 + ,both these pilots were from South Africa 🇿🇦

@ToddSauve

20 күн бұрын

I don't know what modern scholarship has turned up on Johnnie Johnson's final score at the end of WW2 was, but when I was a kid reading his book "Wing Leader" the total stood at 38. He was recognized as the leading Allied ace in the European theatre of operations, meaning northwest Europe. It has been said that he gave away some of his victories to the young Canadian kids he flew with, as a sort of incentive because they had flown so well as a wingman and whatnot. So who knows what his real total actually was, eh? I've only seen a tiny number of interviews with Johnnie but he is a very impressive man, kind of a born leader alpha male, and there is no mistaking that. Wally McLeod was from my hometown of Regina, Saskatchewan. (And Johnnie even pronounced Saskatchewan correctly, something many Canadians and Americans cannot do!) I remember from his book Johnson described Wally as clearly the best shooting fighter pilot he had ever seen in WW2. Those two German fighters, FW 190s IIRC, brought down with only 13 rounds from each of the two cannons on McLeod's Spitfire IX is the jaw dropping sort of thing you would never forget! 🤠

Since this interview much research has taken place regarding Bader's fate over France it is now firmly believed that he was shot down by a Spitfire , furthermore Bader knew this and was the real reason as to why he kept quite . It is also thought that his aircraft crashed into a small lake and why no wreckage was ever found which would have resolved the debate beyond doubt. An old friend of mine who was an engineering Officer at a Vulcan base where Johnny Johnson was OC , told me that he landed a Vulcan with the brakes on and burst all the tyres . He also added as to what a great man he was. I will endorse one point he made Southern Africa is a wonderful p lace , I now live in Thailand and wish I as rich enough to have homes in both.

@aussie6910

Жыл бұрын

According to Bader, he told the Germans exactly where his plane crashed & said he would be very grateful if they went there & retrieved his leg, which they did. So it can't be that hard to find.

@jameswebb4593

Жыл бұрын

@@aussie6910 His leg was never found , a spare was dropped by a Spitfire .

@aussie6910

Жыл бұрын

@@jameswebb4593 I just checked, they did find his leg the instep & leather work was damaged. It was repaired at the local Luftwaffe airfield (St. Omer?), they did an excellent job. Reach For The Sky Page 286 Fontana paperback. The request for the spare was put in before the crash site was searched. The spare leg was dropped from a Blenheim surrounded by Bader's whole wing at 15,000ft. Page 302. But Bader had already escaped, soon recaptured though.

@bobsakamanos4469

9 ай бұрын

Sanders wrote a book on this. Poorly researched and full of speculation. It was simply an opinion paper and perhaps the worst book on WWII I've ever read.

I would say without any doubt that Nader would be completely overshadowed by Johnny Johnson.

@felipfelop8220

2 жыл бұрын

Who's Nader,never heard of before

@johnwilson7609

2 жыл бұрын

@@felipfelop8220 Douglous Bader.

An American pilot said he always felt that country boys that had been gifted riders, with 'good hands' (light hands), seemed to be the most gifted, natural pilots. He became an Ace, and was seen as a great pilot, but he said he started, feeling very uncomfortable. He said he labored with obsessive watching of all the readings, that it was a constant struggle and he was always worried he"d be culled, as useless - until eventually, one morning, he took off and suddenly, he felt he had become the plane. He almost only had to look at where he wanted to go, and all his actions were barely registering. Suddenly, he felt he was flying, and the plane was an eager horse, that seemed to read his mind. It was beautifully written . JJ seems to feel the top shooters were ex hunters. Beurling used to shoot homeless dogs for fun on Malta, for amusement My admiration shrivelled at that point. Gifted war hero, but I would not have wanted his company.

@bobsakamanos4469

9 ай бұрын

Stray dogs in Malta, Africa etc were and are a problem. They carried rabies and other diseases, so don't project today's city standards onto yesterdays norms.

Great interview. Really enjoyed

Thank you this was very interesting I ve always in awe about WW2 and the fighter piolits the formations who flew to France and afterwards on DAY. I wonder those in the arm forces are very focused in what they need to do in their job wondering if that's a taught thing for arm forces personel or is it individual each person has it inside of themselves. Im always fascinated about WW2 and how those in the armforces work together as a team especially working with those fighters working with Europe for example the resistance. I would think being a individual type person you would see that as a positive quality in a person. Just thinking about the RAF Pilot said that people just did not get the Canadian pilot and thats a shame. 😀🙏❤

Excellent. I've ordered his book. Bless him.

Great man..great video thank you. Shame more people dont know about him. He shot down loads of FW190's I believe.

@falconeaterf15

3 жыл бұрын

Wrote a few books as well including his autobiography Wing Leader. Highly recommended.

@Void304

3 жыл бұрын

One of the best things about modern technology (KZread, in this case) is that these documentaries and interviews are easily passed on to future generations and instead of being lost to us.

@tonyhall956

3 жыл бұрын

I had the honor of meeting him once, fantastic man, very special

@nikondaveman

3 жыл бұрын

@@falconeaterf15 Yes I have that one...as you say great read

@nikondaveman

3 жыл бұрын

@@tonyhall956 Wish I had !

Someone answer that bloody phone!

@britishamerican4321

9 ай бұрын

Yeah, that was irritating as hell.

A real Englishman

I used to fly with dicky dickinson and Jacky Jackson,

@WilttsWiltts

4 ай бұрын

I used to fly with Liar McLiary

@grahamthebaronhesketh.

4 ай бұрын

@@WilttsWiltts Dicky Bird and Sandy Shaw too.

@WilttsWiltts

4 ай бұрын

@@grahamthebaronhesketh. Good show

How is he not “Sir” Johnnie Johnson?

I can't find anywhere on the Web why his callsign was greycap. Does anyone here know?

@thwwoodcraft1449

Ай бұрын

He picked it from a list presented to him. Read his book

This man epitomises most of what was ‘ Great ‘ in the Great Britain that was ! ! I well remember when it was announced in the News that , arguably , funny but utterly crude Comedian from Scotland was being awarded a Knighthood and - in the same sentence of the announcement. - Johnie Johnson was awarded a CBE. I think that ‘ come what Monster May ‘ was in Office at the time but this priority in values says it all ! Despite our being Little Brexit now ; do we really think that this vulgar Scotsman. - irrespective of how funny we think he is. - should have been given a Knighthood and our distinguished War hero Johnie NOT a Knighthood ? ! !

Get rid of the phone.