Charles Godefroy

France planned a victory parade on the Champs Élysées on 14 July 1919 to mark the end of hostilities in World War I.

At a meeting at Le Fouquet's, a bar on the Champs Élysées, a group of aviators decided to address this affront by selecting one of them to fly through the Arc de Triomphe during the parade.

Godefroy, who had 500 flying hours at the time, volunteered to make the flight in Navarre's stead.

On 7 August 1919, three weeks after the victory parade, under cover of secrecy and dressed in his warrant officer uniform, Godefroy took off at 7:20 a.m. from the airfield of Villacoublay in a Nieuport 27 sesquiplane and soon reached the Porte Maillot.

He passed at a low level over a tram in which passengers threw themselves to the ground, and many passers-by ran away frightened.

Godefroy then flew over the Place de la Concorde and returned to the airfield, where his mechanic checked over the engine.