Arizona republican., 1916-06-25
FRENCH A|RMAN WINS IN MANY
 AIR BATTLES
Republican A. p. Leased Wire1

IhCpubhSd'i "A. r. GcdStU WHtI
 PARIS, June 24.-Second Lieutenant Jean Navarro, of the French flying corps, has just been officially credit ed with destroying his tenth German machine Unofficially, he has brought down eighteen; that is to say that, in addition to the ten machines, de- struction of which has been verified by his superior officers. he is known to have sent eight more to earth be- hind the German lines under circum- stances that justify the supposition that they were destroyed.
 Navarro is the "enfant terrible" or pest of the French flying corps, with eccentricities that keep his superior officers busy. He has seen most of the world at IS, and had just disem- parked from Japan and taken a few lessons in aviation when the war broke out. Too young to be called to the colors regularly. he enlisted and was summoned to appear for medi- cal examination; instead of respond ing, he took the train for Saint Cyr and told the officers there that he had been ordered to report to join the en- gineers. Together Wiht comrade that had received a pilots license he applied to an officer of the flying corps at Tours to be incorporated in that service. The captain examined the papers of the real aviator and passed him; then asked Navarro: What do you want?" Same as he," replied Navarro, and without further fOrmality Navarro found himself on an so horse power biplane at the l front, regulating the fire of the ar ! tillery in November. 1914 It was a service that was little suited to his disposition; he called it driving a taXi-auto," and showed his discon- tent by some fantastic evolutions on returning from an observation tour, that resulted in his being sent to the rear. He presented himself at the aviation camp where men were being
 trained to fly the swift battle planes and was given opportunity to try one
 of them. His natural qualities as an acrobat of the air got him immedi-
 ately one of the new machines.
 lie made his debut in the chase in
 March. 1915. and in his first eXpedi-
 tion attacked one of the German ma
 chimes that was the most redoubtable
 at that time by his skill as a pilot
 alone dominating his adversary. He
 flew over him, looped the loop under
 him, sailed all around him. risking a
 dozen times to collide with him, yet
 never giving the German observer a
 chance to fire. The German machine
 finally went to earth a few yards
 from the French lines without having
 been hit or damaged in any way; the
 German pilot had lost his head in the presence of the fantastic evolutions ot
 his adversary and could not only in- ; quire after being made prisoner, What in the world is that phenom enon that fell upon me-" Since tha time Navarro has flown successivels [ in all the different machines in the , French aviation service mastering them all with equal ease and skill } and never failing to charge an enem. wherever he found him. His theOr, } of the aerial combat is to go at hi. man, drive right at him regardless O r the enemy's fire, paying attention dn } ly to his own.
 7 Up to date, Navarro has wage 7 nearly 90 air battles.
 r A great many anecdotes are told o
 Navarro, some of them perhaps some what stretched. a few of them authen tic One of the latter relates to hi: fourth combat, which barely escaped getting him 30 days in prison. H. had tten already acquired the habi