Adolphe Celestin Pegoud (1889-1915) was a well known French aviator who became the first fighter ace. An aviator is a person who flies aircraft for pleasure or as a profession. ... Fighter Ace is an online multiplayer computer game in which one flies World War II fighter and bomber planes in combat against other players and virtual pilots. ...

Pegoud served in the French Army from 1907 to 1913. Immediately thereafter he began flying, earned his pilot's certificate, and in a few months had performed the first loop and made the first parachute jump from an airplane. He also became a popular instructor of French and other European fledglings.

At the start of the First World War Pegoud volunteered for flying duty and was immediately accepted as an observation pilot. On 5 February 1915 he and his gunner were credited with shooting down two German aircraft and forcing another to land. Soon he was flying single-seat aircraft and claimed two more victories in April. His sixth success came in July. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

It is not known how many of Pegoud's victories involved destruction of enemy aircraft, as early air combat was rare enough to warrant credit for a forced landing. However, it is certain that Pegoud, rather than Roland Garros (three documented victories), was the first pilot to achieve acedom of any sort. Roland Garros has been considered the world’s first fighter pilot. ...

On 31 August Pegoud was killed while intercepting an German reconnaissance aircraft. He was 26 years old, ironically the victim of one of his prewar students.

References

• Norman Franks & Frank Bailey - Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918. (1992).