where he failed to destroy his aircraft completely before being taken prisoner: most significantly, the gun and armoured propeller remained intact. Fokker had been working on a system for at least six months before Garros's aircraft fell into German hands, but this convinced the German military to request a similar mechanism. With the Fokker's introduction of an interrupter gear (which prevents the gun from firing while the propeller is in front of it), the tables were turned on the Allies. Fokker's aircraft shot down many Allied aircraft, leading to what became known as the Fokker Scourge. POW camp internment and escape After almost three years in captivity in various German POW camps Garros managed to escape on 14 February 1918 together with fellow aviator lieutenant Anselme Marchal. They made it to London via the Netherlands and from there he returned to France where he rejoined the French army. He returned to Escadrille 26 to pilot a SPAD, and claimed two victories on 2 October 1918, one of which was confirmed. Death On 5 October 1918, he was shot down and killed near Vouziers, Ardennes, a month before the end of the war and one day short of his 30th birthday. His adversary was probably German ace Hermann Habich from Jasta 49, flying a Fokker D.VII. Legacy Garros is sometimes called the world's first fighter ace; however, he shot down only four aircraft, while the criterion for "ace" was set at five or more victories. The honour of becoming the first ace went to another French airman, Adolphe Pégoud, who had six victories early in the war. The Stade Roland Garros tennis centre constructed in Paris in the 1920s was named after him. It accommodates the French Open, one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. Consequently, the tournament is officially called Les Internationaux de France de Roland-Garros (the "French Internationals of Roland Garros"). La Réunion's international airport is named the Roland Garros Airport. There is a monument to Garros in Bizerte at the site of his landing, which is called "Roland Garros Plaza". The town of Houlgate in Normandy has named their promenade after Roland Garros in celebration of it being the location he broke the altitude record from. According to Vũ Trọng Phụng's urban novel, Dumb Luck (1936), during colonial times the Hanoi government named the city's main tennis stadium after Roland Garros. The French car manufacturer Peugeot commissioned