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.

With the rank of sergeant,[2] Van Lierde made several reconnaissance flights during the German invasion[1] in an antiquated Fairey Fox III biplane.

[citation needed] In September 1940, after recovering from his injuries, Van Lierde 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.

[1] After the standard interrogation by MI5 at the London Reception Centre,[3] Van Lierde joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on 5 September 1941.

[1] 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.

[3] On 26 March he shot down a Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft[3] 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.

From May 1945 Van Lierde served in 84 Group Support Unit, and as a Belgian Liaison Officer at Second Tactical Air Force Headquarters.

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

Additionally, he claimed that as he flew lower for a closer inspection, the snake rose up approximately 10 feet (3.0 m), giving the impression it would have attacked the helicopter if it had been within striking range.