One November morning in 1913, two primitive biplanes made of wood and cloth approached each other. The pilots exchanged a few pistol shots and then roared off in different directions. This is generally considered to be the first aerial duel in history.
The pilots, Dean Lamb and Phil Rader, were American mercenaries who had hired themselves out to competing factions in the Mexican Revolution. Years later, Lamb recalled that when the two planes met, Rader fired first. But it appeared to Lamb that Rader was aiming to miss, so he did the same. The two pilots gaily emptied their pistols, reloaded, and made another pass. When it was all done, they saluted each other and then went their separate ways.
一九一三年十一月一個上午，兩架木和布製成的原始雙翼飛機朝對方飛去，機師以手槍相向，各自開了幾槍，然後曳着隆隆聲，往不同方向飛走。這一般認為是歷史上第一場空戰。
那兩個機師叫迪安．拉姆和菲爾．雷德，是美籍雇傭兵，為墨西哥革命之中敵對的派別效力。多年之後，拉姆回憶說，兩架飛機相遇時，先開槍的是雷德，但拉姆覺得雷德有意瞄不準，於是他也不瞄準開槍。兩個機師高高興興，把手槍裝上的子彈打盡，再次裝上，再次交鋒，這一切做完之後，互相敬禮，然後各自掉頭離去。