Flight Lieutenant, service number 117611, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, age 31.
Jean-Noël studied law at the University of Leuven, after which he was employed by Picanol Company at Ypres.
During the Eighteen Days Campaign he served in the Belgian Army and after the capitulation (Jun 28th) he was active in the resistance. Because the Germans tracked him down, he had to flee and via France and Spain, and eventually reached England in 1942 and joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve where he was trained as a fighter pilot.
In July 1944 he arrived in Normandy where he joined the N° 609 Squadron RAF, in which several Belgian pilots flew.
He is registered at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as a British citizen and not as a Belgian citizen. Jean-Noël Vandaele although was a Belgian citizen and that why he has a Belgian headstone.
J.-N. Vandaele piloted the 'Tankbuster' Hawker Typhoon MN954 (squadron code PR-U), "Red 3" with No. 609 Squadron RAF. On 28 September 28, 1944, the mission was to bomb ships on the river 'De Lek' in Holland. This mission ended badly for him since his AC was hit by a German flak guns. Because of that kind of bombing missions which required low altitude engagement, it is supposed that the pilot was too low to bail out safely and that his chute failed to open correctly.
The plane crashed at Alblasserdam whilst its pilot fell down to earth and died close to the crash location of his plane. His remains were buried in the small field of honour on the Dutch communal cemetery of Alblasserdam.
The aircraft was not recovered by the German troops and remained behind in the marshy soil of the Kortlandsche polder, until some wreckage was discovered in 2017 during dredging works.
Today the crash site is located in a freely accessible walking area. Because the ammunition, fuel and oil still present pose a risk to the environment and people, it was decided to salvage the wreckage and clean the site. Recovery works started on February 5th, 2024, under the leadership of a Dutch defense team, and would last until March 7, 2024.
On September 28, 2019, 75 years after the crash, a small monument in memory of F/Lt Jean-Noël Vandaele was unveiled on the crash site by his daughter.
Flight Lieutenant, service number 117611, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, age 31.
Jean-Noël studied law at the University of Leuven, after which he was employed by Picanol Company at Ypres.
During the Eighteen Days Campaign he served in the Belgian Army and after the capitulation (Jun 28th) he was active in the resistance. Because the Germans tracked him down, he had to flee and via France and Spain, and eventually reached England in 1942 and joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve where he was trained as a fighter pilot.
In July 1944 he arrived in Normandy where he joined the N° 609 Squadron RAF, in which several Belgian pilots flew.
He is registered at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as a British citizen and not as a Belgian citizen. Jean-Noël Vandaele although was a Belgian citizen and that why he has a Belgian headstone.
J.-N. Vandaele piloted the 'Tankbuster' Hawker Typhoon MN954 (squadron code PR-U), "Red 3" with No. 609 Squadron RAF. On 28 September 28, 1944, the mission was to bomb ships on the river 'De Lek' in Holland. This mission ended badly for him since his AC was hit by a German flak guns. Because of that kind of bombing missions which required low altitude engagement, it is supposed that the pilot was too low to bail out safely and that his chute failed to open correctly.
The plane crashed at Alblasserdam whilst its pilot fell down to earth and died close to the crash location of his plane. His remains were buried in the small field of honour on the Dutch communal cemetery of Alblasserdam.
The aircraft was not recovered by the German troops and remained behind in the marshy soil of the Kortlandsche polder, until some wreckage was discovered in 2017 during dredging works.
Today the crash site is located in a freely accessible walking area. Because the ammunition, fuel and oil still present pose a risk to the environment and people, it was decided to salvage the wreckage and clean the site. Recovery works started on February 5th, 2024, under the leadership of a Dutch defense team, and would last until March 7, 2024.
On September 28, 2019, 75 years after the crash, a small monument in memory of F/Lt Jean-Noël Vandaele was unveiled on the crash site by his daughter.
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