Roland Garros was a fairly important pioneering figure among early French aviators and WWI French fighter pilots. Bet you've heard of him. Like many aviation pioneers, there are a few PODs surrounding him that have intrigued me for a long time.
Let's look at his OTL track record first:
He was born in Saint-Denis on Réunion, of all places. In 1909, he started flying on the then popular, Alberto Santos-Dumont designed light monoplane type Demoiselle. From there on, his aviator career developed at a fast pace and Garros became a rising aviation star by the beginning of the following decade.
Among Garros' most famous achievements was his 1913 flight across the Mediterranean, the first successful flight of its kind. He flew from Fréjus in southern France to Bizerte in modern day Tunisia. Famously, though, with a few tens of kilometers left to Bizerte, he acquired engine trouble, which lead to the front of his fuselage getting damaged and leaking fuel. He had a pretty terrible time since then, with some of the fuel flying onto his goggles and obscuring his vision. He was nevertheless determined to finish his flight. He made it to Bizerte, with just 5 liters of fuel remaining in the fuel tank. That wouldn't have lasted him for many more minutes, but he made it, narrowly.
A photo taken after his famous landing in Bizerte
(Video from the centennary commemoration of the crossing in 2013)
During the early months of WWI, Garros was already serving as a fighter pilot and became notable in the war for two things: Together with Raymond Saulnier, developing one of the pre-Fokker fire synchronisation systems for fighters ("Garros' deflector", a more primitive one, though) and getting taken into captivity by the Germans on the 18 April 1915, in order to learn about his ideas. Garros later escaped a POW camp in 1918, rejoined the French forces and continued the fight. Until he was killed in action over the Ardennes, he scored two more victories, gaining a total of four kills. Adolphe Pégoud, countryman of Garros and another well-known early 1910s pioneer, scored five kills early in the war, and for this, became the first fighter pilot in history to be dubbed an "ace". Garros missed his chance, due to a twist of fate.
Last but not least, the French Open was named after Garros, in his honour.
Main POD idea:
Now, let's say that the engine trouble Roland had during the Mediterranean-crossing flight turns out to be worse than in OTL, or something hinders his vision, etc., etc. Whatever unfortunate malarkey happens in the ATL, Garros loses control of his Morane-Saulnier G and fatally crashes into the Med or the Tunisian countryside.
Questions involving ATL outcomes:
- Would Garros' premature death and absence in the events of the coming years change some things about the state or development of early French and European aviation ?
- Will another attempt at flying over the Med be postponed for a while, and if so, who could be a realistic choice to attempt it after Garros ?
- With Garros not playing around with synchronisation systems for machine guns, could the Entente efforts at acquiring a solution (as good as Fokker's, or at least as good as Garros') be delayed in the war ?
- Given the premature death and less fame behind the late Garros' belt, who would a potential future French Open be named after ?
- And one more minor, non-death POD: Garros doesn't get killed in the ATL Med flight scenario and starts serving in WWI as in OTL, but his first few months of service are different. He gradually scores five kills, while Pégoud is one or two kills behind, and Garros also doesn't get captured by the Germans. Could this lead to Garros becoming recognised as the world's first ace instead of Pégoud ?
I'd love to hear some of your ideas. And if you have suggestions for PODs I might have overlooked, be my guest !
Let's look at his OTL track record first:
He was born in Saint-Denis on Réunion, of all places. In 1909, he started flying on the then popular, Alberto Santos-Dumont designed light monoplane type Demoiselle. From there on, his aviator career developed at a fast pace and Garros became a rising aviation star by the beginning of the following decade.
Among Garros' most famous achievements was his 1913 flight across the Mediterranean, the first successful flight of its kind. He flew from Fréjus in southern France to Bizerte in modern day Tunisia. Famously, though, with a few tens of kilometers left to Bizerte, he acquired engine trouble, which lead to the front of his fuselage getting damaged and leaking fuel. He had a pretty terrible time since then, with some of the fuel flying onto his goggles and obscuring his vision. He was nevertheless determined to finish his flight. He made it to Bizerte, with just 5 liters of fuel remaining in the fuel tank. That wouldn't have lasted him for many more minutes, but he made it, narrowly.
A photo taken after his famous landing in Bizerte
(Video from the centennary commemoration of the crossing in 2013)
During the early months of WWI, Garros was already serving as a fighter pilot and became notable in the war for two things: Together with Raymond Saulnier, developing one of the pre-Fokker fire synchronisation systems for fighters ("Garros' deflector", a more primitive one, though) and getting taken into captivity by the Germans on the 18 April 1915, in order to learn about his ideas. Garros later escaped a POW camp in 1918, rejoined the French forces and continued the fight. Until he was killed in action over the Ardennes, he scored two more victories, gaining a total of four kills. Adolphe Pégoud, countryman of Garros and another well-known early 1910s pioneer, scored five kills early in the war, and for this, became the first fighter pilot in history to be dubbed an "ace". Garros missed his chance, due to a twist of fate.
Last but not least, the French Open was named after Garros, in his honour.
Main POD idea:
Now, let's say that the engine trouble Roland had during the Mediterranean-crossing flight turns out to be worse than in OTL, or something hinders his vision, etc., etc. Whatever unfortunate malarkey happens in the ATL, Garros loses control of his Morane-Saulnier G and fatally crashes into the Med or the Tunisian countryside.
Questions involving ATL outcomes:
- Would Garros' premature death and absence in the events of the coming years change some things about the state or development of early French and European aviation ?
- Will another attempt at flying over the Med be postponed for a while, and if so, who could be a realistic choice to attempt it after Garros ?
- With Garros not playing around with synchronisation systems for machine guns, could the Entente efforts at acquiring a solution (as good as Fokker's, or at least as good as Garros') be delayed in the war ?
- Given the premature death and less fame behind the late Garros' belt, who would a potential future French Open be named after ?
- And one more minor, non-death POD: Garros doesn't get killed in the ATL Med flight scenario and starts serving in WWI as in OTL, but his first few months of service are different. He gradually scores five kills, while Pégoud is one or two kills behind, and Garros also doesn't get captured by the Germans. Could this lead to Garros becoming recognised as the world's first ace instead of Pégoud ?
I'd love to hear some of your ideas. And if you have suggestions for PODs I might have overlooked, be my guest !
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