 In June 1940 he was ordered to Patrol Squadron Twelve and one year later, on March 28, 1941, he was assigned to the Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department in Washington, D.C., where he served consecutively under admirals John H. Towers and John S. McCain Sr.Following the United States entry into the World War II, Johnson was promoted to the temporary rank of Lieutenant commander on January 1, 1942.He remained with the Bureau through the early portion of World War II, and in May 1943 he was transferred to Fleet Air Command, Naval Air Station Quonset Point as Commander Carrier Air Group Two.