Last Dambuster Squadron Leader ‘Johnny’ Johnson dies at 101

In the early hours of the morning of May 17, 1943, George “Johnny” Johnson was lying on his stomach in his customary position in the front of a Lancaster bomber (call sign AJ-T) as it approached the Sorpe dam deep in the Ruhr valley of northwestern Germany.

As the bomb-aimer on one of the most secret, ambitious and audacious of the RAF’s operations during the Second World War, it was Johnson’s job to decide when to release an 8,500lb (3,900kg) bomb that had been designed specially for this mission.

In the next 40 minutes Johnson — who would live long enough to become the celebrated last survivor of the British Dambuster crews of 617 Squadron — would demonstrate remarkable coolness under pressure and a determination