Roland Garros has been considered the world’s first fighter pilot. In 1915, during World War I, he introduced a revolutionary method of destroying enemy aeroplanes by placing a forward-firing machine-gun on his aeroplane and metal deflector plates on the wooden propeller. He died just a month shy of the end of the war in 1918.

Roland Garros (October 6, 1888 – October 5, 1918) was an early French aviator and a fighter aircraft pilot during World War I. Roland Garros, French fighter pilot of World War I Template:PG File links The following pages link to this file: Roland Garros Armée de lAir (Part I: From birth to "Torch", 1909-1942) ... Roland Garros, French fighter pilot of World War I Template:PG File links The following pages link to this file: Roland Garros Armée de lAir (Part I: From birth to "Torch", 1909-1942) ... Combatants Allies: • Serbia, • Russia, • France, • Romania, • Belgium, • British Empire and Dominions, • United States, • Italy, • ...and others Central Powers: • Germany, • Austria-Hungary, • Ottoman Empire, • Bulgaria Casualties 5 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) 3 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) World War I, also known as the First World... October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in Leap years). ... 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year (279th in Leap years). ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... An aviator is a person who flies aircraft for pleasure or as a profession. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards and make it easier to understand, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Combatants Allies: • Serbia, • Russia, • France, • Romania, • Belgium, • British Empire and Dominions, • United States, • Italy, • ...and others Central Powers: • Germany, • Austria-Hungary, • Ottoman Empire, • Bulgaria Casualties 5 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) 3 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) World War I, also known as the First World...

Garros was already a noted aviator before the war. In 1913 he gained fame for making the first nonstop flight across the Mediterranean Sea. The next year he joined the French army at the outbreak of World War I. After several missions he decided that shooting and flying at the same time was too difficult, so he fitted a machine gun to the front of his plane so the tasks became one and the same. In order to protect the propeller from the bullets, he fitted metal wedges to the prop. Starting from April 1, 1915, he soon shot down three German planes and quickly gained an excellent reputation. 1913 (MCMXIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Satellite image The Mediterranean Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. ... Combatants Allies: • Serbia, • Russia, • France, • Romania, • Belgium, • British Empire and Dominions, • United States, • Italy, • ...and others Central Powers: • Germany, • Austria-Hungary, • Ottoman Empire, • Bulgaria Casualties 5 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) 3 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) World War I, also known as the First World... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

On April 18, 1915, he was shot down and glided to a landing on the German side of the lines. After examining his plane Anthony Fokker's team designed an improved system known as the interrupter gear. Soon the tables were reversed with Fokker's planes shooting down nearly every enemy plane they met, leading to what became known as the Fokker Scourge. April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Time magazine, December 31, 1923 Anton Herman Gerard Anthony Fokker (April 6, 1890 – December 23, 1939), was born in Kediri (Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia) and became a Dutch aircraft manufacturer. ... The interrupter gear, more properly (and correctly) known as a synchronisation gear, was a triggering device attached to a fighter aircrafts machine gun so that it would fire only at certain times. ... The Fokker Scourge, a term coined by the British press, was a period of time in World War I in the summer of 1915. ...

Garros managed to escape from prisoner-of-war camp in Germany in February 1918 and joined the French army again. On October 5, 1918, he was shot down again and killed near Vouziers, Ardennes. A Prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of persons captured by the enemy in time of war. ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year (279th in Leap years). ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Vouziers is a commune of the Ardennes département, in France. ... The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests and rolling hill country, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France (lending its name to the Ardennes département and the Champagne-Ardenne région). ...

Garros is erroneously called the world's first fighter ace. In fact he shot down 3 aircraft, and the honor of the first ace went to another French airman, Adolphe Pégoud. Nevertheless, Garros was an outstanding aviator and probably the first real fighter pilot in the world. 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. ...

Places named after Roland Garros

In the 1920s, a tennis centre was named after the pilot, Stade de Roland Garros. The stadium accommodates the French Open, one of tennis' Grand Slam tournaments. Subsequently, the tournament is popularly and officially called Roland Garros. It has been suggested that Roaring Twenties be merged into this article or section. ... Tennis ball This article is about the sport. ... Outside the Philippe Chatrier Court, Roland Garros Stade de Roland Garros (Roland Garros Stadium) is located in southwest Paris, France, and has been the home of the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, played every year in May and June. ... The French Open, officially the Tournoi de Roland-Garros (English: Roland Garros Tournament), is a tennis event held over two weeks between mid May and early June in Paris, France, and is the second of the Grand Slam tournaments on the annual tennis calendar. ... A Grand Slam is a term in tennis used to denote winning all four of the following championship titles in the same year: Australian Open French Open Wimbledon U.S. Open These tournaments are therefore also known as the Grand Slam tournaments, and rank as the most important tennis tournaments...

The international airport of La Réunion, Roland Garros Airport, is also named after him.

See also

• Armée de l'Air (Part I: From birth to "Torch", 1909-1942)