VANDERPERREN, Jaak Maria Franciscus
Stats:
rank: P/Ostatus: kia
airforce: RAF (no: 120896 )
born: 1920-02-16 Dendermonde Belgium
added by: Adrian Dwyer
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Bio / Text:
Jaak " Butch " Vanderperren entered the Royal Military School in November 1937. He was Sub-Lt in the artillery when War broke out. On 15 May 1940, the training school (where Jaak was on courses) was evacuated to Maçon in France. He stayed for several months in France before escaping to the non-occupied zone of Vichy, in March1941. Whilst there, he was arrested by Vichy police and imprisoned at Marseille and in Mauzat: from where he escaped 3 weeks later. He crossed the French/Spanish border on 24 September 1941 but was yet again arrested (5 days later) whilst in Aoiz. Vanderperren was sent as political prisoner to several Spanish concentration camps before being released on December 1st.
He arrived in UK on January 4th, 1942 and enlisted the RAFVR on 5 May - with the rank P/O - and started his initial training on 15 May 1942 at 17 ITW. On August 18th, he joined 6 EFTS at Sywell and was then send to Canada to complete his training at: CADC(24 September 1942), PAC (17 November 1942), 31 EFTS (22 November 1942), 34 S Flight TS, PRC (23 June 1943). He was then posted to 5(P) AFU (7 July 1943) and 61OTU (28 December 1943).
His training completed, Jaak was assigned to 349 Sqn, where he arrived on 22 March 1944. However, he was soon transferred to 350 (BE) Sqn via13 OTU, on June 1st, 1944. With this Squadron he saw action during D-Day, liberation of France, Belgium and also took part during Operation Market Garden.During a patrol over occupied Belgium he breaks from his flight and flighs over the rooftops of the street in Watermaal-Bosvoorde, where he used to live before the war. As he was flying at a very low altitude he swings the wings of his Spitfire. When he was doing so, his mother just arrived at home when she heard a terrible noise of an engine. Immediately she turned her head towards the sky and seeing the aircraft passing above her head, she squeezed her glasses and shouted very loudly "Jaak!!".A few days later his family received a smuggled letter from him in which he stated that it was HIM flying the Spit! (see the BBC reference and the research of Gunter Verhoeven).
The Sqn left UK on December 3rd, 1944 and advanced across Europe. On Christmas Day, 1944, Jaak and"Fifi" Verpoorten departed for a mission against an armed convoy near Prüm. Strafing the convoy, an exploding truck turned Jaak's plane into a fireball; the aircraft became unflyable and struck the ground. Jaak was killed. His family, with whom he should have been celebrating Christmas the same evening, were informed of his death a few days later.
In 1948 his body was repatriated to Belgium. A special remembrance was held in the Royal Military Academy in Brussels and a promotion of new officers received his name - 'the Captain Vanderperren promotion'. During this remembrance he was knighted posthumuously as an officer in the Order of king Leopold. His grave, together with the graves of many of his friend and Belgian pilots who fought during the Battle of Britain can now be visited in Evere Cemetery in Brussels.
Known awards
Knight in the Order of Léopold with Palm, roix de Guerre 1940 with 2 Palm, Crois des Evadés,
Croix de Guerre 1940 - Grand Duché de Luxembourg, .
He arrived in UK on January 4th, 1942 and enlisted the RAFVR on 5 May - with the rank P/O - and started his initial training on 15 May 1942 at 17 ITW. On August 18th, he joined 6 EFTS at Sywell and was then send to Canada to complete his training at: CADC(24 September 1942), PAC (17 November 1942), 31 EFTS (22 November 1942), 34 S Flight TS, PRC (23 June 1943). He was then posted to 5(P) AFU (7 July 1943) and 61OTU (28 December 1943).
His training completed, Jaak was assigned to 349 Sqn, where he arrived on 22 March 1944. However, he was soon transferred to 350 (BE) Sqn via13 OTU, on June 1st, 1944. With this Squadron he saw action during D-Day, liberation of France, Belgium and also took part during Operation Market Garden.During a patrol over occupied Belgium he breaks from his flight and flighs over the rooftops of the street in Watermaal-Bosvoorde, where he used to live before the war. As he was flying at a very low altitude he swings the wings of his Spitfire. When he was doing so, his mother just arrived at home when she heard a terrible noise of an engine. Immediately she turned her head towards the sky and seeing the aircraft passing above her head, she squeezed her glasses and shouted very loudly "Jaak!!".A few days later his family received a smuggled letter from him in which he stated that it was HIM flying the Spit! (see the BBC reference and the research of Gunter Verhoeven).
The Sqn left UK on December 3rd, 1944 and advanced across Europe. On Christmas Day, 1944, Jaak and"Fifi" Verpoorten departed for a mission against an armed convoy near Prüm. Strafing the convoy, an exploding truck turned Jaak's plane into a fireball; the aircraft became unflyable and struck the ground. Jaak was killed. His family, with whom he should have been celebrating Christmas the same evening, were informed of his death a few days later.
In 1948 his body was repatriated to Belgium. A special remembrance was held in the Royal Military Academy in Brussels and a promotion of new officers received his name - 'the Captain Vanderperren promotion'. During this remembrance he was knighted posthumuously as an officer in the Order of king Leopold. His grave, together with the graves of many of his friend and Belgian pilots who fought during the Battle of Britain can now be visited in Evere Cemetery in Brussels.
Known awards
Knight in the Order of Léopold with Palm, roix de Guerre 1940 with 2 Palm, Crois des Evadés,
Croix de Guerre 1940 - Grand Duché de Luxembourg, .
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