Adolphe Célestin Pégoud (French pronunciation: [adɔlf peɡu]; 13 June 1889 – 31 August 1915) was a French aviator and flight instructor. He became the first fighter ace in history during World War I.

Biography

Adolphe Célestin Pégoud was born on June 13, 1889, in Montferrat, France. He served in the French Army from 1907 to 1913. After being released from service on February 13, 1913, he began flying immediately and earned his pilot's certificate on March 1, 1913. Using a special aircraft, Pégoud became the first pilot to jump from an airplane using a parachute. During this jump, he noticed the plane’s unexpected path, especially a loop-like movement, and believed he could repeat and control it in flight. After landing, Pégoud told reporters, "I've seen him, alone, looping the loop. So you see that this is possible. Also, I will try!"

As a test pilot for Louis Blériot, he worked to achieve this goal using a Blériot model XI monoplane. After modifying his airplane and practicing "head down" ground training, he made the first inverted flight on September 1, 1913. Then, on September 21, he flew a loop, believing it to be the world’s first. Pégoud’s accomplishment was widely reported and thought to be the first loop, even though Pyotr Nesterov, a Russian army pilot, had completed a loop earlier on September 9, 1913, 12 days before in a Nieuport IV monoplane at an airfield near Kiev. Soon after, Pégoud was invited by the Czar of Russia to perform demonstrations and train students in Moscow.

Pégoud became a popular instructor for French and other European pilots who were just beginning their training. At the start of World War I, he volunteered for flying duty and was quickly accepted as an observation pilot. On February 5, 1915, he and his gunner were credited with shooting down two German aircraft and forcing another to land. Soon after, he began flying single-seat aircraft and claimed two more victories in April. His sixth success occurred in July.

It is unclear how many of Pégoud’s victories involved destroying enemy aircraft, as early air combat was rare and forced landings were often credited as victories. However, it is certain that Pégoud, not Roland Garros (who had four documented victories later), was the first pilot to achieve ace status.

On August 31, 1915, Pégoud was shot down and killed by Unteroffizier Otto Kandulski, who had been his student, while intercepting a German reconnaissance aircraft. He was 26 years old. The same German crew later dropped a funeral wreath behind French lines. Two weeks later, Kandulski was shot down by French pilot Roger Ronserail, who earned the title "Le Vengeur de Pégoud" ("The avenger of Pégoud").

Pégoud was first buried in Petit-Croix, and his remains were later moved to Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris in 1920.