WAR

Matutinal in his habits, Pegoud was up and in his flying togs at the hangar
by dawn. He frequently flew voluntary early patrols. If he was not flying he
would be found recumbent in a deck chair placed before the hangar, his binoculars
in his hand, scrutinizing the sky.
Because the
names of Garros and Pegoud were well known by their pre-war
achievements, the handful of victories they won (in a day when aerial victories
were virtually unknown) was magnified in the newspapers. Pegoud, with his
score standing at five
was called an As, or Ace. The expression "ace" was current
sports slang in France; it derived from the high card and meant "champion."
Pegoud was a national hero. "Pegoud" became the name of a cocktail and a
brand of cigarettes and five victories became the fortuitous standard by which
one qualified as an Ace.
In July 1915 Pegoud destroyed a German two-seater while flying the
Morane "N". As usual, he had been standing by, ready to go. His diary gives
the following account:
"An Aviatik is sighted flying over Dannemarie region. Nine minutes after,
see nothing. Continue patrol toward Thann, Belfort, and Swiss frontier. Fly over
Dannemarie again. See far off toward Basle a black speck growing. Soon distinguish
a superb Aviatik. Try to draw it into our lines. Several feint attacks. Won't
come, flies along Front. Seeing this, dive on him and immediately pass under
him while he shoots at me with machine gun located in rear. Shooting not
accurate, his own fuselage in the way. Try to keep myself right under him. Succeed
with quick manoeuvres, following movements of enemy aeroplane exactly.
Arrive at a bound about 150 feet below, start firing with first
clip of 25 cartridges,
aiming a little behind motor, then mow down pilot and passenger. After ten
rounds, Boche nosedives, flames come out of fuselage. Follow it down, firing
and reloading. Finding myself over enemy lines at Altkirch, level off at 5000 feet.
Watch fall of Aviatik which crashes on road by Altkirch, between railroad and
village.
Wreckage remains clearly visible."
At 8:30 in the morning on Tuesday, August 31, 1915, a call came through
that a German machine had been spotted high over Montreux, headed for Belfort.
Pegoud was ready this morning as he was on all others, and found the Boche
soon after taking off. Exchanging long bursts with the gunner in the two-seater,
Pegoud exhausted his first clip. He banked away to reload then drove in again
from the side and a little above. One bullet from the observer's Parabellum went
straight through his heart.
From 10,000 feet the little single-seater dived into the ground, engine full on.
Squadron mates who arrived at the site of the crash by auto found four
gendarmes and a number of soldiers of the 117th Territorial Regiment on guard
over the wreck, standing in a silent circle. The body of the first Ace was covered
by a strip of fabric from a wing. Still recognizable was Pegoud's good luck charm
which his friends took back with them—the penguin.
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