It’s January 20th, 1943,
over the fields of occupied Belgium.
The roar of two Hawker Typhoon Fighter-bombers disturbs the morning peace
as they race to their objective.
On board the lead Typhoon is RAF pilot and Belgian aristocrat
Baron Jean Michel de Selys Longchamps,
followed closely by his wingman, Sergeant Andre Blanco.
Their mission is meant to be simple;
approach undetected and deliver their 4 1000-pound bombs on an important railway junction,
denying its utility to the German war effort.
But Jean Michel also has other plans.
The morning frost still covers the ground
when Jean Michel spots their target emerging from between the hedgerows of the countryside.
The fighter-bombers line up their run
and with expert precision let go of their payload as they speed overhead.
4 explosions echo across the land and a plume of dirt and wood rises into the sky;
the rails are left mangled on the ground.
The pair of pilots congratulate each other on a job well done.
"Nice work, mon ami. Drinks are on the last one to base."
And Jean Michel tells Blanco to turn for home without him.
"Return without me."
The mood on the radio turns from celebratory to confusion,
Blanco is asking why he wasn’t coming back as well.
Jean Michel simply repeats himself, there’s something else he must do.
Blanco reluctantly separates from the formation and returns on his own.
With his partner heading for the channel,
Jean Michel turns his aircraft in the opposite direction, heading deeper into enemy territory.
His destination is Brussels.
He is not cleared to do this, but the Belgian Baron doesn't care.
He isn’t doing this for Britain or for the allies: today he seeks revenge.
Revenge for himself, his family, and his Belgian countrymen.
The plan was hatched several months earlier, the day burned in his mind.
He was already an RAF pilot in Britain,
having long fled Belgium when it was invaded by the Germans.
A rumor comes from home, circulating from person to person.
Someone only identified as “Baron de Selys Longchamps” has been captured by the Gestapo
and tortured to death for conspiring against the Germans.
Jean Michel’s mind immediately thought of his father.
A retired military officer and deeply patriotic,
his father had used his wealth and estates to support the resistance from the moment Belgium fell.
He remained in the country throughout, doing what he could to fight back against the invaders.
In fury Jean Michel came up with an idea, and in calm he distilled it into a plan.
He proposed this plan several times to the commanding officers,
but every time he was turned down.
Little did his superiors know, he wasn’t asking.
The great sprawling city of Brussels appears up ahead
and Jean Michel heads straight for a particular street.
Without a hint of hesitation, he races into the city at rooftop height,
the roar of his Hawker Typhoon’s 24 cylinder engine shakes the windows of the residences below.
He has his eyes focused on the road ahead following the path he’s studied over and over again.
Jean Michel flies through Avenue Louise at 160 kilometers per hour mere meters away from buildings,
taking every turn with complete commitment.
Up ahead his target stands defiantly above the surrounding constructions, a tall, white apartment building.
It stands out like a sore thumb, surrounded in every side by more traditional homes.
Within are the offices of Nazi Germany’s feared secret police, the Gestapo.
He flies right in front making the construction shake at the seams.
Jean Michel flies over “Bois de la Cambre” park, turning his aircraft around
while Gestapo workers gather at the windows wondering what just happened.
Up in the air Jean Michel rounds the corner into Av. Emile de Motlaan
and the Gestapo headquarters appears straight ahead.
Without a second thought, he pulls the trigger.
In a blur a barrage of 20mm shells strikes the building’s white façade,
piercing it and tearing through the offices within.
The quadruple 20mm Hispano autocannons
dumping 46 rounds of high explosives into the building each and every second.
He keeps firing for as long as he possibly can,
holding the trigger down as the building fast fills his windshield.
He pulls up at the last possible moment, barely clearing the roof as he goes.
Behind him he leaves the construction in ruins,
smoke and dust are pouring out of the blown-out windows.
Satisfied, Jean Michel opens up his canopy and throws out a fistful of little Belgian flags over the city.
Curious civilians are brought out by the commotion to witness the trail of flags fluttering down onto their streets.
He keeps throwing flags as he heads for his next target, the Royal Palace of Laeken,
but for this one he has a different payload in store.
From his bag he fetches a much bigger Belgian flag.
Jean Michel lets it go into the airstream as he flies over the beautifully ornate palace.
The tricolor spreads in the air and lands right on the palace roof, for all the citizens to see.
Then he turns for home, knowing the German interceptors are on the way.
Civilians gather on the streets, they watch in owe as the brave pilot makes his escape,
leaving a patriotic trail in his wake.
Jean Michel successfully made it back to base untouched.
His raid is known to have killed at least 4 high ranking officers of the Gestapo,
while subsequent rumors across the Brussels put his tally as high as 30 Gestapo workers.
The attack completely halted HQ operations for 6 weeks while the building was repaired.
Upon landing back in England,
Jean Michel’s heroic actions would earn him
a demotion and a berating from his superiors for having gone rogue.
However, this would fortunately not last long,
the story of the patriotic Belgian Baron that brought revenge upon the Gestapo caught on,
and his feats would gain the fame that they deserved.
"Oh, well. good job, man."
"Really good job."
He would receive the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions a couple of months after the events.
Jean Michel de Selys Longchamps would be tragically killed in action just 8 months after the raid,
on August 16th, 1943.
After the war it was discovered that Jean Michel’s father was alive,
it remains unknown who the rumored person arrested by the Gestapo really was.
The liberated Belgian government would posthumously award him with the country’s highest order,
The Order of Leopold.
It was received by his father.
The building still stands today, and just outside a golden-colored bust of the great pilot was built,
in remembrance of the day the Belgian Baron took matters into his own hands.
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