In 1943 RAF Captain James Edgar Johnnie Johnson (9 March 1915 – 30 January 2001) piloted the Spitfire Mk IX fighter jets and climbed vertically above clouds. He was promoted to major general in the Air Force in 1963 and became commander of the NATO Central Air Force in the Ardennes. He retired in 1966 as Commander of the British Air Force in the Gulf of Aden in the Middle East
