Remy Van Lierde

Early career and outbreak of war

He entered the Aviation Militaire Belge ("Belgian Military Aviation", the predecessor of the Belgian Air Force) on 16 September 1935. He first trained as an observer, but began pilot training on 1 May 1937,^[4] qualifying in April 1938. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 1st Aviation Regiment.^[3]The 3rd Squadron where Remy Van Lierde served at that time was located at Goetsenhoven, in the centre of Belgium.

With the rank of Sergeant^[4] he made several reconnaissance flights during the German invasion^[3] in an antiquated Fairey Fox III biplane.^[5] He was shot down by flak on 16 May 1940, was wounded and captured. Van Lierde was staying in hospital during two weeks and couldn't take part in the further fighting because on May 28 Belgium surrendered.^[6] In September 1940, after recovering from his injuries, he left Belgium, crossed occupied France, and entered neutral Spain. He was arrested for illegally crossing the border, and was confined in various Spanish prisons, including the notorious concentration camp at Miranda de Ebro. Nevertheless, he eventually escaped, and reached England on 22 July 1941.^[3]

Career in the Royal Air Force

After the standard interrogation by MI5 at the London Reception Centre,^[5] he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on 5 September.^[4] Van Lierde spent three months at No. 57 Operational Training Unit at RAF Hawarden, before being assigned to No. 609 Squadron on 6 January 1942^[5] with the rank of Pilot Officer.^[3]This squadron had been organized before the war and took part in the air battles of Britain. At the period when Van Lierde was appointed to that squadron it was equipped fully by foreign pilots, there were a lot of Belgians among them. On 2 June 1942 he damaged a Dornier Do 217 bomber over Skegness while flying a Spitfire Mk.Vb. He was promoted to Flying Officer in 1942.^[3]

Van Lierde claimed his first victory while flying a Typhoon Ib on 20 January 1943 when he shot down a Bf 109-G fighter during a raid on the south coast.^[5] On 26 March he shot down a Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft^[5] while en route to an attack on the German air base at Chièvres. This was witnessed by local inhabitants, including Van Lierde's wife, who surprised her husband after the war by showing him pieces of wreckage from the aircraft at the bottom of his garden.^[3] On 14 May 1943 he was the first person to drop bombs from a Typhoon, and shot down a He 111 bomber on his return journey. He downed another Bf 109 on 30 July, and on 5 October he shot down a Junkers Ju 88 heavy fighter and destroyed another aircraft on the ground. His last victory, a Messerschmitt Bf 110 bomber was claimed on 30 November, bringing his score to 6 kills and 1 destroyed on the ground.^[5]At the end of 1943 he was already number 7 in the ranks of air ace of Belgium in the Second World War. Yet his greater victories would come later.^[6]

Van Lierde was promoted to Flight Lieutenant in September 1943^[3] and on 22 December 1943 was posted to the Central Gunnery School at RAF Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, returning to RAF Manston on 7 February 1944.^[5]

On 27 April, he was posted to No. 3 Squadron, flying the Tempest Mk.V, before taking command of No. 164 Squadron on 20 August 1944 with the rank of Squadron Leader, tasked with combating the V-1 offensive. He was credited with shooting down or destroying 44 flying bombs solo, with another 9 shared, making him the second highest-scoring "doodlebug" killer.^[5]

Van Lierde then led his squadron into Europe during the western campaign. From May 1945 Van Lierde served in 84 Group Support Unit, and as a Belgian Liaison Officer at 2nd Tactical Air Force Headquarters.^[3]

Post-war service

In August 1945 he was given command of 350 Squadron, an RAF formation of Belgian pilots flying the Spitfire that was eventually transferred to the Belgian Air Force in October 1946.^[3]

Commissioned into the Belgian Air Force as a major in June 1946, Van Lierde took command of the 1st Fighter Wing (formed from 350 and 349 Squadrons) at Beauvechain Air Base. From October 1947 to November 1950 he was head of the Office of Group Operations, and also studied at the RAF Staff College in 1948. He was appointed Detachment Commander at Chièvres Air Base, and then on 1 December 1950 as commander of the 7th Fighter Wing. In 1953 he was appointed to the Operations Group of Chiefs of Staff. Van Lierde was appointed aide to the former King Leopold III in September 1953.^[3]

In November 1958, with Captain Yves Bodart, he travelled to England to test fly a Hawker Hunter at Dunsfold Aerodrome, becoming one of the first Belgian pilots to break the sound barrier.^[3]

Lt. Colonel Van Lierde he was made Deputy Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defense in 1954. In 1959, as full Colonel, he commanded the air base at Kamina in the Belgian Congo. While there, on a helicopter trip, he discovered the mysterious Giant Congo Snake of which the head was 3-feet wide and when he hovered closer it rose up 10-feet out of the water, so he couldn't get too close to it. So, he was something of an explorer and naturalist as well. After the Belgian Congo had became independent on 30 June 1960, colonel Remy Van Lierde came back to Belgium. After returning to Belgium he became the Chief of Operations of the Chiefs of Staff and had several other appointments before his retirement in 1968. ^[2] During the period of 1960-1968 he was serving as the commanding officer of the 7th Fighter Wing and the Chièvres Air Base.^[7]

Colonel Remy Van Lierde, hero of World War II and flying ace died at Lessines on 8 June 1990.^[2],^[4]