Frank Johnson (aviator)
Encyclopedia
Sergeant Frank Johnson DCM
& Bar
(born 28 December 1896, date of death unknown) was a World War I flying ace
credited with 16 aerial victories. He flew as an observer/gunner and a pilot, and is the only enlisted man to receive a second award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
Johnson scored his first four victories between 24 September 1916 and 4 February 1917 while assigned to No. 22 Squadron. He flew in the back seat of four different F.E.2bs with four different pilots to do it. Johnson was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal on 26 April 1917. He then retrained as a pilot, and returned to action as a member of No. 20 Squadron, which operated Bristol F.2 Fighter
s. He then scored nine more victories between 11 October 1917 and 17 February 1918, using four different gunners in the rear seat of the two-seated fighter.
He then transferred to No. 62 Squadron to score his last three victories, one on 27 March 1918, and the other two on 12 April. Once again, he was piloting Bristols, and he used two different gunners to score this last trio of triumphs. He was awarded a Bar to his DCM in lieu of a second award on 3 September 1918.
His final tally showed six enemy airplanes destroyed and twelve driven down out of control.
Distinguished Conduct Medal
The Distinguished Conduct Medal was an extremely high level award for bravery. It was a second level military decoration awarded to other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to non-commissioned personnel of other Commonwealth countries.The medal was instituted in 1854, during the Crimean...
& Bar
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
(born 28 December 1896, date of death unknown) was a World War I flying ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
credited with 16 aerial victories. He flew as an observer/gunner and a pilot, and is the only enlisted man to receive a second award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
Johnson scored his first four victories between 24 September 1916 and 4 February 1917 while assigned to No. 22 Squadron. He flew in the back seat of four different F.E.2bs with four different pilots to do it. Johnson was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal on 26 April 1917. He then retrained as a pilot, and returned to action as a member of No. 20 Squadron, which operated Bristol F.2 Fighter
Bristol F.2 Fighter
The Bristol F.2 Fighter was a British two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War flown by the Royal Flying Corps. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter or popularly the "Brisfit" or "Biff". Despite being a two-seater, the F.2B proved to be an agile aircraft...
s. He then scored nine more victories between 11 October 1917 and 17 February 1918, using four different gunners in the rear seat of the two-seated fighter.
He then transferred to No. 62 Squadron to score his last three victories, one on 27 March 1918, and the other two on 12 April. Once again, he was piloting Bristols, and he used two different gunners to score this last trio of triumphs. He was awarded a Bar to his DCM in lieu of a second award on 3 September 1918.
His final tally showed six enemy airplanes destroyed and twelve driven down out of control.