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Roland Garros ( October 6, 1888 - October 5, 1918) was an early French aviator and a fighter aircraft pilot of the World War I.

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 garnered an excellent reputation.

On April 18April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). There are 257 days remaining. Events 1518 Bona Sforza is crowned as queen of Poland and married to Sigismund I of Poland. 1775 Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Preth, 1915, he was shot down and glided to a landing on the German side of the lines. After examining his plane Anthony FokkerAnton Herman Gerard 'Anthony' Fokker ( April 6, 1890 December 23, 1939), was born in Kediri ( Dutch East Indies) and became a Dutch aircraft manufacturer. After constructing his first airplane at age 20, he gained fame during World War I by building plane's team designed an improved system known as the interrupter gearThe interrupter gear also known as synchronization gear was a triggering device attached to a fighter aircraft's machine gun so that it would fire only at certain times. This allowed machine guns to be mounted directly in front of the pilot, firing throug. Soon the tables were reversed with Fokker's planes shooting down every plane they met, leading to what became known as the Fokker ScourgeThe Fokker Scourge a term coined by the British press, was a period of time in World War I in the summer of 1915. The newly arriving Fokker E. I designs, the first with the interrupter gear, proved to be able to outfight every other fighter aircraft in th.

Garros managed to escape from prisoner camp in Germany in February 1918 and joined the French army again. On October 5th, 1918, he was shot down again and killed near Vouziers .

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 Pegoud . Nevertheless, Garros was an outstanding aviator and probably the first real fighter pilot in the world.

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