Remy Van Lierde (original) (raw)

Colonel Remy Van Lierde, DFC & Two Bars (14 August 1915 – 8 June 1990) was a Belgian pilot and fighter ace who served in the aviation branch of the Belgian Army and the British Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War, shooting down six enemy aircraft and 44 V-1 flying bombs, and achieving the RAF rank of squadron leader. Returning to the Belgian Air Force in 1946, Van Lierde was made Deputy Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defense in 1954. In 1958 he became one of the first Belgians to break the sound barrier while test flying a Hawker Hunter at Dunsfold Aerodrome in England. He went on to hold several important commands before retiring in 1968.