In 1959, Remy Van Lierde served as a Colonel in the Belgian Air Force at the Kamina airbase in Belgian occupied Congo.
In Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, returning from a mission by helicopter, he reported having seen an enormous snake as he flew over the forests.
The giant Congo snake mystery
Colonel Van Lierde described the snake as being close to 50 feet in length, with a 2 foot wide by 3 foot long triangular head, which (if his estimation was accurate) would earn the creature a place amongst the largest snakes to have ever existed. Colonel Lierde described the snake as having dark green and brown top scales and a white-ish colored underside.
Upon sighting the reptile, he told the pilot to turn around and make another pass. At which, the serpent reared up the frontal ten feet of its body head as if to strike, giving him an opportunity to observe its white underbelly. However, after flying so low that Van Lierde thaught it was within striking distance of his helicopter. He ordered the pilot to resume his journey, therefore the creature was never properly documented, although some reports suggest that an onboard photographer managed to snap this shot of it.
What could it actually be?
The strange creature is believed to be either a massively oversized African rock python, an entirely new species of snake, or perhaps a descendant of the giant Eocene snake Gigantophis.
About Remy Van Lierde
Van Lierde was born on August 14th of 1915, in Overboelare, Belgium. He began his career in Belgian Airforce on September 16, 1935, as a fighter pilot who served during World War II in the Belgian and British Air Forces, shooting down six enemy aircraft and 44 V-1 flying bombs, and achieving the RAF rank of Squadron Leader.
Colonel Remy Van Lierde
Van Lierde was made Deputy Chief of Staff to the Ministre of Defense in 1954. In 1958 he became one of the first Belgians to break the sound barrier while test flying a Hawker Hunter at Dunsfold Aerodrome in England. He returned to the Belgian Air Force after the war and went on to hold several important commands before retiring in 1968. He died on June 8th of 1990.