Their heavy Armstrong-Whitworth (Ack-W) was only meant for day and night bombing, photography, and artillery spotting. But 2nd Lt. Alan McLeod handled it like a scout plane. As he and Lt. A.W. Hammond were about to make a bombing run over Bray-sur-Somme, Hammond downed a Fokker tri-plane. Seven other tri-planes came down on them from a break in the clouds. Hammond got one more, but six-to-one odds in a dogfight are not the best. German ace Hans Kirschstein hit McLeod, Hammond, and the Ack-W's fuel tank with one machine gun burst.

Burn up in the sky or die on the ground 2,000 feet below? McLeod climbed onto the lower left wing, reached in and grabbed the joystick, and side-slipped the plane, forcing the flames away. In spite of his wounded arm, Hammond lifted himself onto the fuselage. From that high-wire position he miraculously shot down another German. Kirschstein dove at them again, putting more bullets into the men and machine. Hammond's gun jammed. Kirschstein flew away, sure that neither pilot nor gunner could possibly survive. But just before the Ack-W was about to plow into a shell hole, McLeod flattened out the dive and climbed to the top wing. At impact, both he and Hammond were thrown clear of the wreck. McLeod dragged his unconscious gunner through No-Man's Land. Then, just short of the British lines, he was downed by a German bullet. British Tommies crept out and brought the two unconscious airmen back to the safety of the trenches.

For his part in that 1918 battle, Hammond received a Bar to his Military Cross. He recovered, minus a leg. McLeod was awarded the Victoria Cross. He returned home to Canada, but the 19-year-old who had cheated death months before, died of influenza.