Oral History Interview with Ralph W. Johnson, October 30, 2009
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Oral History Interview with Ralph W. Johnson, October 30, 2009 (Sound)
Transcript of an oral interview with Ralph W. Johnson. Born in 1920, he was drafted into the Army Air Corps in October 1941. He was accepted into the Aviation Cadet program in 1942. He was sent to flight instructor school upon completion of his flight training in 1943. In Carlsbad, New Mexico, he instructed bombardier cadets in bombing and navigation techniques until 1944. He shares an anecdote about landing a plane when the engines were accidentally turned off by a bombardier cadet. He was transferred to Hobbs Air Force Base, New Mexico where he learned to fly B-29 and B-17 bombers. He discusses difficulties with the B-29 aircraft. In April 1945, he was transferred to Guam where he became a B-29 aircraft commander and flew combat missions. He describes missions along the coast of Japan. He talks about a mission in which the fuel tanks were accidentally dropped along with the bombs. He also describes his plane being hit by anti-aircraft fire and the flight from northern Japan to Iwo Jima. He shares an anecdote about a mission that earned him the nickname “Fireball.” After a brief period on inactive duty after the war, he returned to active duty and flew in the Berlin Airlift. In 1952 he was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida where he was an operations officer and test pilot. He was assigned to Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico from June 1956 through July 1961 where he served in the nuclear test group which was engaged in atmospheric and underground testing. He describes a mission involving nuclear fallout testing as well as one involving the testing of the effluent from a nuclear rocket engine. He shares an anecdote about absorbing high levels of radiation. He served as an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) combat crew commander at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. He completed his military career at the Strategic Air Command (SAC) and retired in 1968.
Oral History Interview with Ralph W. Johnson, October 30, 2009 - ark:/67531/metapth1609510
Oral History Interview with Ralph W. Johnson, October 30, 2009, text, October 30, 2009; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1605699/: accessed June 11, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation.