Sky Bandits

Barney and Luke are rounded up after a spree of dynamite-fueled bank robberies and pressed into a US unit headed for the trenches in France. The war pulls them away from the lawless West and into a world of mud, machine guns, and no easy exits. They quickly have to improvise to survive the conflict.

On the frontlines, they use their gunslinging skills to shoot the pilot of a low-flying German bomber, sowing chaos in the air. The rout allows them to slip away from their unit and vanish into the sky. The incident marks the start of their reckless bid to escape the war on their own terms.

At an officer's mess, they pose as British RFC officers and drink with the officers. They are challenged to prove themselves by piloting a Vickers F.B.5 Gunbus. They manage to fly the plane, though they quickly get lost among the clouds. Their unexpected sighting of a huge German airship and their subsequent landing at an RFC squadron base convinces the commander to offer them a place in the unit.

With a new status, they plan an escape by stealing two aircraft at gunpoint. Their goal is to fly toward neutral Switzerland to slip out of the war. The daring theft sets up the next leg of their perilous journey.

During the escape route, they inadvertently drift toward the airship's hangar. Luke is shot down and captured in the ensuing chaos. Barney's resolve tightens as the airship threat grows larger than their personal escape.

Barney returns to the front and discovers the squadron base destroyed by the airship, with all its planes lost. He retrieves the Gunbus and makes a covert approach to the hangar. The loss fuels their plan to disrupt the airship from up close.

Barney defies orders again as he retrieves the Gunbus and lands near the hangar. He discovers Luke is being held captive inside a bank vault connected to the siege. Using his familiarity with breaking open vaults, he frees Luke and they reunite with a renewed bid to destroy the airship.

The squadron arrives with Fritz's outlandish improvised planes to back them up. They close in on the German airship, trading shots and dodging bursts of flame. Barney and Luke even land on top of the airship, blasting from their six-shooters and setting charges to force the captain's surrender. The airship is brought to heel, clearing the way for their return.

Back in the Old West, the pair blow up another bank before racing away on horseback. A posse closes in, determined to bring them in. They vanish from view and reappear overhead in a Gunbus, turning the pursuit into a chase through the skies.

The credits roll as Barney and Luke argue about their next destination, with Mexico emerging as a possible destination in the middle of the war-torn world. They trade quips about whether to keep running or settle old scores. The film ends on a note of reckless camaraderie and uncertain futures.