In April 1945, 2nd Lt. Peter During was a South African fighter pilot (N.7 Squadron) running missions over Italy when his Spitfire was shot down by German AA fire.
He managed to crash land his plane behind enemy lines where he was immediately captured.
After traveling for some hours, During asked his captors in broken italian what they would do after the war and convinced them to be his prisoners instead. He promised them that once they arrived at the Allied lines, he would put a good word for them.
And so, the Germans surrendered their weapons to him and During escorted his former captors for 5 days through enemy lines and along the way, becoming friends with them and taking photos together.
When they reached a Canadian unit, as promised, he kept his word and put a good recommendation for them. In exchange, one of the German soldiers gave him his camera with the photos they all took together
After the war, During developed the film and tried to track down the German soldiers to hand back the camera, unfortunately, he never found them. #smoothasfuck #ww2 #italy #zerofoxtrot #stayzero