Garros, Roland (1888–1918)

French fighter pilot in World War I. He held several aviation records 1911–12 and made his name with a 800 km/500 mi flight across the Mediterranean from St Raphael to Bizerte. He had some success as a fighter pilot but crash-landed in enemy territory April 1915 and was taken prisoner. He escaped February 1918 and returned to France, rejoined the air service and scored several more victories before being shot down and killed 5 October 1918.

Garros was the first pilot to fire machine guns through the propeller blades, giving him a considerable advantage over his enemies. He had sheets of steel attached to the propeller blades so that bullets would be deflected if they hit, but a sufficient number passed between the blades to be effective.