Baron fighter pilot attacks the Gestapo in Brussels

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Baron Jean de Selys Longchamps served as a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

20 January 1943: early in the morning, he attacked the Gestapo headquarters on Avenue Louise in Brussels. His Hawker Typhoon was equipped with four 20 mm Hispano cannons, capable of firing 650 rounds per minute. Several German officers were killed and the building suffered significant damage.

Night of 15–16 August 1943: during an RAF operation over Ostend, his aircraft was hit by German anti-aircraft fire and heavily damaged. As he landed at Manston airfield in Kent (UK), the aircraft broke in two. He crashed and was killed instantly. He is buried at Minster-in-Thanet Cemetery, not far from where he lost his life.

During his lifetime, he received the prestigious Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war, he was posthumously appointed a Knight of the Order of Leopold with Palm. In Brussels, a golden bust near Avenue Louise still commemorates his remarkable act of resistance.