A Dramatic – and Unauthorized – Solo Raid Against the Gestapo
When the Nazis conquered Belgium, the Gestapo set up a headquarters at 453 Avenue Louise in Brussels. The building soon gained a sinister reputation, as its basement became a torture center for those who fell afoul of the Nazis. They included Longchamps’s father, who was tortured to death there by the Sicherheitzpolizei (SiPo) – Germany’s Security Police, a combination of the Gestapo and the criminal cops. Longchamps came up with a plan to strafe the Gestapo HQ, but his RAF superiors rejected it time after time. He decided to do it anyhow, on his own. On January 20th, 1943, he was sent on a normal mission to strafe a railway near Ghent. He took the opportunity to fly to nearby Brussels, to pay the German secret police a visit. Once the authorized mission was over, Longchamps set out to conduct an unauthorized raid.
He ordered his wingman back to Britain, and set course for Brussels, about thirty miles away. Longchamps flew low to avoid detection, and reached Brussels without a hitch. He first flew down Avenue Louise, and gunned his engine as he passed the Gestapo HQ to draw the occupants to the windows. He then made a wide loop, and returned to the building, this time with four 20 mm auto-cannons blazing. Up to thirty Germans might have been killed. Their numbers included the chief of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) – the SS secret police – and other prominent security officials. Longchamp then scattered a bag of small Belgian flags over Brussels, and dropped a Union Jack and large Belgian flag at the royal palace. Upon his return, Longchamps was demoted for his unauthorized raid. He was also awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross.