Last surviving Dambuster Johnny Johnson - who was onboard Lancaster bomber when it flew over Derbyshire - dies aged 101
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Just weeks after celebrating his 101st birthday, his family said he died peacefully in his sleep on Wednesday.
He was the last surviving original member of the Dambusters, members of the RAF's 617 Squadron who were assembled to bomb three dams in Germany's Ruhr Valley on the night of 16-17 May 1943 – also known as Operation Chastise.
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Hide AdJohnny was also on board the Second World War bomber as it soared over the Derwent dam in the Peak District in 2018 to mark the 75th anniversary of the famous raids.
He said at the time: "Over the Derwent Dam, the time was gone - just like that. I was back there, thinking about the times that we went there."
Next year marks 80 years since the raid, in which the revolutionary bouncing bomb, the brainchild of engineer Barnes Wallis, was dropped at low level on Germany’s industrial heartland in the Ruhr Valley.
A statement by the 617617 Squadron Association said: “It is with great sadness we share that George Leonard ('Johnny') Johnson passed away yesterday, 7 December 2022, at the age of 101. Johnny was the last surviving original member of 617 Squadron and of Operation Chastise, the "Dambusters" raid of 1943. He was the bomb aimer in the seven man crew of a Lancaster aircraft, piloted by Flt Lt Joe McCarthy.
“From all of us at 617 Squadron Association, we extend our deepest condolences to Johnny's family and friends.”