Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

Jean Michel P.M.G. de Selys Longchamps DFC (31 May 1912 – 16 August 1943) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

aristocrat and

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He is chiefly known for his single-handed attack on the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

headquarters in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

in German-occupied Belgium.

Early life

Jean de Selys Longchamps DFC was born into Belgian nobility, historically residing in ''Longchamps Castle'' (now a

gîte A gîte () is a type of accommodation that comes in a variety of forms, ranging from a gîtes d'etape, a hostel, for walkers and cyclists, to a gîte rural, a holiday home in the country available for rent, often an accessory dwelling unit. The te ...

) in Borgworm near

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

. He inherited the title of baron from his father, Baron Raymond Charles Michel Ghislain de Selys Longchamps. He dropped out of the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of ...

and then started his professional career as a bank clerk.

Early military career

At the outbreak of the war, Selys Longchamps was drafted into the

Belgian Army The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...

, in which he was commissioned as a cavalry officer with the ''1er Régiment des Guides''. He managed to escape with the

British forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

from

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, where he was arrested by the Vichy authorities and sent into internment in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

. He escaped and traveling via

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

was able to reach Britain, where he - after purporting to be younger than his age of 28 - was accepted for flight training with the RAF. He was posted to

No. 609 Squadron RAF No. 609 (West Riding) Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, originally formed as a bomber squadron and in the Second World War active as fighter squadron, nowadays provides personnel to augment and support the operations of the Royal Air Fo ...

and flying

Hawker Typhoon The Hawker Typhoon is a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems were encountered and i ...

s quickly made a name as an able and aggressive pilot.

Attack on the Gestapo headquarters in Brussels

Immediately upon the fall of Belgium on May 10, 1940, the Gestapo commandeered ''Résidence Belvédère'', a luxurious

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

apartment building located at ''453

Avenue Louise The () or (Dutch) is a major thoroughfare in Brussels, Belgium. It is located in the southern part of the City of Brussels, on the border with the municipality of Ixelles, where it runs south–east from the to the Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kame ...

'' in Brussels as its headquarters, and tortured prisoners in its cellars. Longchamps' father had died under torture at the hands of the ''

Sicherheitspolizei The ''Sicherheitspolizei'' ( en, Security Police), often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Germany for security police. In the Nazi era, it referred to the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the ...

'' (SiPo). Longchamps devised a plan to

strafe Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such ...

the building, which RAF command repeatedly declined. On January 20, 1943, Longchamps completed an approved railway strafing mission over

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

, then ordered his wingman ( flight sergeant André Blanco) back to base and set out without approval for Brussels, some to the south-east. Longchamps first flew his Typhoon down the ''Avenue Louise'' to make a high-speed pass of the target building, reportedly to have the roar of the

Napier Sabre The Napier Sabre is a British H-24-cylinder, liquid-cooled, sleeve valve, piston aero engine, designed by Major Frank Halford and built by D. Napier & Son during World War II. The engine evolved to become one of the most powerful inline ...

engine draw Gestapo personnel to the unprotected windows. Using the ample manoeuvering space above the ''

Bois de la Cambre The () or (Dutch) is an urban public park in Brussels, Belgium. It lies in the south of the Brussels-Capital Region, in the municipality of the City of Brussels, and covers an area of , forming a natural offshoot of the Sonian Forest, which p ...

'' parc, he then turned to the ''Avenue de la Nation'', using it as a low-level attack path. He continued through the left turn of the connecting ''Avenue Emile De Mot'' to an unobstructed and fairly frontal firing position with little risk of

collateral damage Collateral damage is any death, injury, or other damage inflicted that is an incidental result of an activity. Originally coined by military operations, it is now also used in non-military contexts. Since the development of precision guided ...

and raked the target with his four 20 mm Hispano autocannons, resulting in the death of ''SS-

Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Obersturmführer'' was first created in 1932 as the result of an expa ...

'' Werner Vogt of the SiPo, ''SS-

Sturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the SA, SS, and the NSFK. The rank originated from German shock troop units of the First World War ...

'' Alfred Thomas, head of ''Abteiling III'' of the ''

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization ...

'' (SD) in Belgium, a high-ranking Gestapo officer named Müller, and others. Longchamps had a bag of small Belgian flags made by Belgian refugee schoolchildren in London. After the attack, he scattered the small Belgian flags across Brussels, dropped a

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

and a large Belgian flag at the Royal Palace in Laeken, and dropped another at the garden of his niece, the Baroness de Villegas de Saint-Pierre.

Aftermath

Upon his return, Longchamps was reprimanded for acting without orders and demoted to

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

. However, he was soon after awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions. After the attack, some resistance sources claimed a death toll as high as thirty, and the Nazis admitted four fatalities and five serious injuries. A bust near the site commemorates Longchamps' actions.

Death

On August 16, 1943, Selys Longchamps was killed while attempting to land at

RAF Manston Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airpor ...

, his landing gear having been damaged by German ''Flak'' during a mission over

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

. He is buried in

Minster-in-Thanet Minster, also known as Minster-in-Thanet, is a village and civil parish in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is the site of Minster in Thanet Priory. The village is west of Ramsgate (which is the post town) and to the north east of Cant ...

. A commemoration of his life was held on 16 August 2013 in conjunction with the

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...

and Wings Of Memory from Belgium.

Honours and awards

* Knight of the order of Leopold (posthumous) * War cross WWII with palm *

Distinguished flying cross (United Kingdom) The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers, and since 1993 to other ranks, of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countri ...

Family

Jean's brother, Michel-François de Selys, is the father of Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, the former mistress of King Albert II, with whom she has a daughter, Princess Delphine (who since October 2020 can legally wear the title of "

Her Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Monarchs and their consorts are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of address, spoken or written, it takes ...

"). Her legal name though is now Delphine Saxe-Coburg.

References

;Notes ;Citations ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Selys, Jean 1912 births 1943 deaths Nobility from Brussels Barons of Belgium Belgian Army officers Belgian people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of Vichy France Belgian escapees Escapees from French detention Belgian World War II pilots Royal Air Force officers Belgian Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Belgian military personnel of World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1943 Military personnel from Brussels Belgian aviators