Video script:

What happened here? What’s stuck in the tree? And why are those two men shaking hands?

This scene shows a Royal Flying Corps biplane that crash-landed in a tree after being shot down in a dogfight with a German fighter. The pilot managed to climb down — and now he’s shaking hands with the German pilot, while German soldiers stand guard.

The war in the air was a little different from the war on the ground. These two pilots, even though they were enemies, probably had a lot in common. They came from similar families, with money and good education.

After a cigarette together, they would go back to base, share a drink in the officers’ mess, and then the defeated pilot would be taken to prison.