page_title: Robert S. Johnson
section_title: Becoming an ace
hierarchical_section_title: Robert S. Johnson / Combat experiences / Becoming an ace
caption_attribution_description: English: Caption Robert S. Johnson of Lawton, Oklahoma, being greeted by his crew chief, Staff Sergeant Ernest D. Gould of Vancouver, Washington, after Johnson's return from a three-kill mission. Only part of his victories are reflected in those painted on the aircraft as the remainder of his kills were then pending confirmation. Photo received from War Department Bureau of Public Relations, 21 March 1944.
context_page_description: Robert Samuel Johnson was a fighter pilot with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He is credited with scoring 27 victories during the conflict flying a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
  Johnson was the first USAAF fighter pilot in the European theater to surpass Eddie Rickenbacker's World War I score of 26 victories. He finished his combat tour with 27 kills. He was later credited by the Eighth Air Force claims board with a 28th victory when a "probable" was reassessed as a "destroyed", then reduced back to 27 when a post-war review discovered that the Eighth Air Force had inadvertently switched credits for a kill he made with a double kill made by a fellow 56th Fighter Group pilot, Ralph A. Johnson, on November 26, 1943, a day when Robert Johnson aborted the mission after takeoff.
context_section_description: As the 56th Group gained experience, its success in aerial combat improved dramatically, beginning with 17 Luftwaffe fighters shot down on August 17 while escorting bombers attacking Regensburg and Schweinfurt. Johnson, promoted to first lieutenant in July, got his second kill on August 19 over the Netherlands when he exploded a Messerschmitt Bf 109, but scheduling often left him on the ground on days when the 56th scored high.
  That situation changed in early October when a week of deep penetration escort missions resulted in a multiplicity of victories for the 56th FG. On October 8 Johnson, assigned as Jerry Johnson's wingman on an escort mission to Bremen, shot down an Fw 190 that was attacking another P-47. Two days later, covering bombers as they withdrew from Münster, his squadron engaged an estimated 40 fighters intercepting the bombers. In a prolonged and vicious dogfight Johnson shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 110 and one of its Fw 190 escorts, but suffered severe battle damage himself. Both he and 56th deputy commander Major David C. Schilling became aces on that date, becoming the fourth and fifth pilots of the Eighth Air Force to achieve the feat.
  Johnson had become an ace while flying primarily as a wingman and overcame a reputation among his commanders for being a "lone wolf" who went off on his own from his squadron. On November 26, 1943, however, Johnson was advanced to flight lead, although on his first mission in that capacity he was forced by a fuel leak to turn back to base shortly after takeoff. Between December 22, 1943, and January 5, 1944, Johnson was the only member of his squadron to score victories, shooting down five German fighters.
  In February 1944 the 56th FG began employing 150-gallon drop tanks on missions, enabling them to escort heavy bombers to the target area on deep penetration missions. The 56th was assigned a patrol sector west of Hanover in the vicinity of Dümmer Lake, and there on four missions in February and March Johnson shot down eight more German planes to become the leading U.S. ace at the time. Johnson's 200-hour combat tour was nearly over and he applied for and was granted a 25-hour extension of his tour. Promoted to captain on March 15, he scored three more victories before being transferred to the 62nd Fighter Squadron to act as its operations officer (S-3).
  He was promoted to major on May 1, 1944, and on the last mission of his extended tour, recorded his final kills on 8 May 1944, when he broke Rickenbacker's record. He returned to the United States on June 6, 1944. Johnson flew a total of 89 combat missions between April 1943 and May 1944.
  Johnson had four aircraft assigned to him during combat operations. His crew chief in the 61st FS was S/Sgt. Ernest D. "Pappy" Gould, and in the 62nd FS, Sgt. J.C. Penrod. Per Roger Freeman, all of Johnson's aerial victories are believed to have occurred while flying these aircraft: 
  P-47C-2-RE   Half-Pint   HV : P   a/c serial 41-6235 (damaged on June 26, 1943, repaired, sent to 9th AF), one victory
  P-47D-5-RE   Lucky   HV : P    a/c serial 42-8461 (crashed March 22, 1944, in bad weather while being flown by another pilot), 21 victories
  P-47D-15-RE   All Hell   HV : P   a/c serial 42-76234, 3 victories
  P-47D-21-RA   Penrod and Sam   LM : Q   a/c serial 42-25512, 2 victories. This plane was named after Booth Tarkington's boys' novel of the same name, matching Johnson's crew chief's surname (Penrod) and his own middle name (Samuel).
  Johnson's logbook
caption: Johnson being greeted by crew chief Pappy Gould on return from a mission in March 1944
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