100 ft snake congo

He had flown in over missions, 100 ft snake congo, his eyes trained to spot friend and foe below. That skillset that would help him with the ensuing ordeal over the Katanga region of myp2p Congo, for what he saw next shocked him and his copilot: A truly gargantuan snake, estimated by his account to be over 50 feet in length. This measurement would easily have made it the largest snake alive on Earth, dwarfing today's titans of 100 ft snake congo slithering world, like the green anaconda and the reticulated python.

In he became one of the first Belgians to break the sound barrier while test flying a Hawker Hunter at Dunsfold Aerodrome in England. He went on to hold several important commands before retiring in Van Lierde was born in Overboelare , Belgium, on 14 August He first trained as an observer, but began pilot training on 1 May , [2] qualifying in April He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 1st Aviation Regiment.

100 ft snake congo

You can also add newsletters iflscience. IFLScience needs the contact information you provide to us to contact you about our products and services. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For information on how to unsubscribe, as well as our privacy practices and commitment to protecting your privacy, check out our Privacy Policy. An artist's impression of Van Lierde supposedly encountering a giant snake in the Congo rainforest. Van Lierde claimed that in he encountered a giant greenish-brown snake while flying over the Katanga Province of the Belgian-occupied Congo now Democratic Republic of Congo by helicopter. As an experienced pilot, Van Lierde argued that he was extremely skilled at gauging the size of things on the ground from the sky. He said the helicopter dipped down within 9 meters 30 feet of the snake below, at which point it "raised up" its neck by around 3 meters 10 feet and eyed-up the chopper for a bite. The head, I would say was certainly 2 foot wide and 3 foot long. Along with this first-hand account, Van Lierde also managed to snap a photograph of the sight.

However, the image was taken in black and white, plus it's a little on the grainy side. Stay Curious.

In the 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. He 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 estimations were accurate, would earn the creature a place among the largest snakes to have ever existed. Colonel Van Lierde described the snake as having dark green and brown top scales and a whitish-colored underside. Upon sighting the reptile, he had the pilot turn around and make another pass, at which the serpent reared up the front ten feet of its body and head as if to strike, giving him the opportunity to observe its underbelly. However, after flying so low that Van Lierde believed it to have been within striking distance of his helicopter, he ordered the pilot to resume his journey, and so the creature was never properly documented, although some reports suggest that an onboard photographer managed to snap a shot of it. It is believed to be either a massively oversized African rock python, a new species of snake entirely, or perhaps a descendant of the giant Eocene snake Gigantophis. An interview with Colonel Van Lierde about the sighting can be found here.

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. 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. 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.

100 ft snake congo

Remy Van Lierde would be worth studying for his incredible military exploits alone — the fact he claimed later in life to have encountered a supernaturally large snake is just a bonus. He was a skilled pilot who rose through the ranks accordingly, and he became especially well-known for shooting down dozens of V-1 flying bombs. He also worked as a test pilot. It was on one of his later missions that he allegedly came across a foot snake in the Belgian Congo. When he enlisted in , he originally trained as an observer, before undergoing pilot training a year and a half later. Following this, he was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 1st Aviation Regiment, stationed at Goetsenhoven Airfield. Prior to the German invasion in May , Van Lierde conducted several reconnaissance flights. He was wounded and captured when his outdated Fairey Fox III biplane was shot down by flak six days into the invasion. The entirety of Belgium was conquered in only 18 days, before he even got out of the hospital.

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He was credited with shooting down or destroying 44 flying bombs solo, with another 9 shared, making him the second highest-scoring "doodlebug" killer. But not all hope is lost for those infatuated with the notion of a terror of the river. Sign Up. Van Lierde claimed his first victory while flying a Typhoon Ib on 20 January when he shot down a Bf G fighter during a raid on the south coast. Experts contacted by Reuters, however, said there is no record of a living snake that reaches a length of 50 feet. Start a Wiki. This depiction bears a striking resemblance to the looming sauropod dinosaurs of the Mesozoic era. The Magazine Shop. Tools Tools. According to experts, the longest snakes recorded have reached lengths of around 20 feet. In fact, in the minds of some, this mysterious creature might be a survivor of the asteroid that wiped out non-avian dinosaurs around 66 million years ago. Facebook Reddit Flipboard Email App. Media and more. Smithsonian Magazine reported that boas can be up to feet-long and anacondas could exceed 20 feet bit. Archived from the original on 13 January

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Article Talk. View our privacy policy and terms below. Nevertheless, per a Reuters report released in , no herpetologists are convinced that such a collosal snake is alive today. Don't have an account? Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals Learn more about Refinitiv. In fact, the proportions outlined by Van Lierde are in line with some prehistoric specimens that really did exist. Episode 1. Fact Check. By Max Bennett. Still, resident species of the Congo never approach the magnitude of the creature described by Van Lierde. The head, I would say was certainly 2 foot wide and 3 foot long. Green anacondas average around 15 feet in length; reticulated pythons, meanwhile, have been known to regularly stretch beyond 20 feet , according to the Natural History Museum in London. However, after flying so low that Van Lierde believed it to have been within striking distance of his helicopter, he ordered the pilot to resume his journey, and so the creature was never properly documented, although some reports suggest that an onboard photographer managed to snap a shot of it.