One of the leading British fighter pilots to take part in the Battle of Britain has died.

Air Vice Marshal "Johnnie" Johnson defended British skies against the Focke-Wulfs and Messerschmitts of the Luftwaffe in head-to-head combat countless times during the Second World War.

His score of 38 confirmed enemy aircraft shot down is widely regarded as a staggering achievement.

Air Vice Marshal Johnson's career as a fighter pilot began when he joined a badly-mauled unit during the Battle of Britain.

It continued after the war, when he fought in Korea and commanded the first squadron of the RAF to operate the Victor V Bomber. In more peaceful times he gave presentations and lectured on his experiences at venues around the UK.

In 1997 he attended a reunion of fighter pilots from both sides that fought in the Battle of Britain, at the Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington.

Together with Hajo Herrmann, a former Luftwaffe Colonel, he watched a Spitfire fighter take part in a flypast with its adversary, the Messerschmitt 109.

Yorkshire Air Museum director, Ian Reed, said: "He was lively character and if he didn't like you he wasn't scared to tell you.

"Among the many brave pilots who took part in the Battle of Britain he was surely one of the fieriest and best."

Updated: 14:40 Wednesday, January 31, 2001