( I did check to see if he was here already !! ) A brave man considering the planes he flew !! Roland Garros was born in France in 1882. An experienced pilot, Garros was the first Frenchman to cross the Mediterranean by air. On the outbreak of the First World War, Garros was sent to serve on the Western Front. Garros realised that he would have more success in dogfights if he could find a way of firing a machine-gun through the propeller. Working with Raymond Saulnier, a French aircraft manufacturer, Garros, added deflector plates to the blades of the propeller of his Morane-Saulnier. These small wedges of toughened steel diverted the passage of those bullets which struck the blades. Now able to use a forward-firing machine-gun, went out searching for his first victim. On 1st April 1915, Garros approached an German Albatros B II reconnaissance aircraft. The German pilot was surprised when Garros approached him head-on. The accepted air fighting strategy at the time was to take 'pot-shots' with a revolver or rifle. Instead Garros shot down the Albatros through his whirling propeller. In the next two weeks Garros shot down four more enemy aircraft. However, the success was short-lived because on 18th April, a rifleman defending Courtrai railway station, managed to fracture the petrol pipe of the aircraft that Garros was flying. Garros was forced to land behind the German front-line and before he could set-fire to his machine it was captured by the Germans. After finding out about Garros' invention, German pilots began using these deflector plates on the blades of their propellers. After capture, Garros was transported to Fort Zorndorf in East Prussia, almost in Poland. Fort Zorndorf, was the German’s highest security prison for key allied prisoners. Persistent escapers were transferred to Fort Zorndorf to cool their heels. Later, Garros was transferred to another less secure prison and escaped back to allied lines. He rejoined his squadron ........ on October 5, 1918, he was shot down and killed near Vouziers, Ardennes, a month shy of the end of the war and one day before his 30th birthday. I love this site !! Early Birds of Aviation, Inc.
Interesting the way that the article phrases the development and introduction of the interrupter gear. Work on that concept had actually started just before the war. But I believe he was the first to use it practically in combat: Interrupter gear - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Like most things in those days K .... nobody believed in it ! ... looks like a Swiss engineer was first ..... but thank goodness Saulnier and Garros persevered ! Annie
