Anchors Aweigh! Too bad for you if you missed Bob Johnson’s craft talk.
Bob was born on a farm (as were most of our members in attendance) and raised in northern Wisconsin. One of the highlights of his talk was viewing videos of day and night carrier landings from inside the cockpit. His talk consisted of his Naval career. Commander Robert A Johnson, US Navy, Retired. He attended the University of Wisconsin on a Navy Scholarship in 1952 and graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering and a BS in Naval Science in 1957.
He and Gail were married and went to Pensacola Florida for flight training in propeller fighters. Next onto Beeville Texas to check out in jet fighters and was awarded his wings in November 1958...
Made two Cold War cruises to the Western Pacific flying the A-3D nuclear bomber from the USS Oriskany and USS Lexington. He received an MS in Aeronautical Engineering from the US Naval Post Graduate School in 1965. Made two combat cruises flying the RA-5C Vigilante reconnaissance aircraft over North Viet Nam flying from the USS Kitty Hawk and USS America.
Selected for and attended the US Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River Maryland and was assigned to Carrier Suitability Branch as a test pilot and later Branch Head. He tested seven different types of aircraft aboard ship. As Commanding Officer of RVAH-7, he made a cruise to the Indian Ocean again flying the RA-5C Vigilante from the USS Kitty Hawk.
In 1974 he received orders to become the 18th Director of the US Naval Test Pilot School, the most junior Director up to that time. There were no accidents or incidents during his command tours.