The Dawn Patrol

In 1915, at the 59 Squadron airfield in France, Major Brand faces mounting losses as the dawn patrol looms. He has already watched sixteen pilots die in the past two weeks and is ordered to launch what amounts to a suicide mission the next day. The weight of command presses on him as he braces for more bloodshed.

The survivors retreat to the mess bar, where drinks and fatalistic bravado fill the room. Courtney does his best to console Hollister, who has broken down after witnessing his friend's death.

Brand announces the next day's dawn patrol and notes that more replacements are on the way. He hints that only the best of the four green pilots will be chosen for the mission.

Courtney studies the four green pilots and selects the two with the most flying hours to take part in the mission. He weighs the risk against the need for seasoned hands on a dangerous raid.

When the dawn patrol returns, only four pilots come back and Scott is among the fallen along with the two new men. Courtney tells Brand that Scott went down saving Hollister, underscoring the cost of their risky mission.

British troops bring in Hauptmann von Mueller, the German who downed Scott. Courtney learns it was he who shot Scott, and Brand informs him; the German graciously acknowledges the duel and Courtney offers him a drink.

Hollister, guilt-ridden, tries to attack the prisoner but is restrained. Then Scotty appears, grim and silent, underscoring the war's toll on the squad.

An enemy aircraft drops a pair of trench boots with a taunting note, meant to lure inexperienced pilots into rash retaliation. Brand forbids any takeoffs without orders, heightening tension and discipline.

Courtney and Scott disobey orders, stealing the boots and taking off in the dawn mist to strike von Richter's airfield. They bomb and strafe, destroying most German aircraft and downing two that try to take off.

Courtney is shot down while recrossing the lines, but Scott manages to rescue him despite his own aircraft being badly damaged. Oil leaks blind Scott, yet Courtney talks him down to a crash behind their trenches.

Brand sets aside his anger about the disobedience when headquarters praises the attack and is promoted to Wing. He then names Courtney to command 59 Squadron, forcing him to acquire the same traits he once despised in Brand.

Scott's younger brother Donnie is posted as a replacement, and Scott pleads for a few days to train him. Courtney refuses, insisting there can be no exceptions, setting a grim precedent for the young pilot.

Courtney quietly tries to obtain a grace period by appealing to headquarters, but is turned down. The next morning, Von Richter shoots Donnie down in flames, and Scott blames Courtney for the failure to train his brother.

Brand assigns a crucial low-level bombing mission against a large munitions dump behind the lines, but bans Courtney from flying. Scott volunteers, and the two reconcile; Courtney gets his friend drunk so he can fly, then detonates the dump himself. Von Richter intercepts; Courtney outflies and shoots down two Germans, including von Richter, but is killed by a third pilot.

With Courtney dead, command of 59 Squadron devolves to Scott. He lines up the depleted squadron for the dawn patrol as five replacements arrive, preparing the unit for the next mission.