Operation: Interception of enemy aircraft

Date: 1st October 1941

Unit: No.185 Squadron

Type: Hawker Hurricane IIb

Serial: Z5265

Code: GL-T

Location: Missing north of Gozo, off Malta.

Pilot: P/O. Peter William Olber Mould D.F.C. and bar. 33414 R.A.F. Age 24. Missing

REASON FOR LOSS:

At 11:50, eight Hurricanes from 185 Squadron scrambled after the incoming ëbanditsí, climbing to 24,000 feet. At this height, 30 miles north-east of the island, they were jumped by the Macchis and 24-year-old Squadron Leader Peter ëBoyí Mould (RAF no. 33414) (Hurricane Z5265/GL-T) was shot down and killed (at this time Mould was credited with 8 and 3 shared victories). 

Capitano Carlo Ivaldi Macchi, Tenente Bonfatti and Sergente Maggiore Dallari claimed two Hurricanes shot down and two probables between them in this first pass; Bonfatti reported that he saw his opponent to jump and parachute (according to some sources the Italian pilots claimed three victories). 

Sergeant Ernie Knight got in a shot at the attackers, obtaining hits on Ivaldiís aircraft (MM7723), which he claimed damaged. The Macchi had been hit in its main fuel tank, and with all fuel drained away, was obliged to force-land on a beach near Pozzzallo, on regaining the Sicilian coast. 

Above: P/O. Peter William Olber Mould D.F.C. and bar

Below: 185 Squadron at base in Malta – GL-T shown in the background

‘The CO was leading A Flight in a scramble after a +2. These he spotted and proceeded to give chase. As they were above him, he was compelled to lose speed in order to gain height. A further plot of +9 then appeared which he apparently did not hear about owing to R/T failure, and just when he was unfavourably placed – he had followed the +2 out of the sun – the formation was jumped by about a dozen Macchis and CR42’s. F/O Murch was hit in the wing and several other, in an attempt to turn to engage, spun off. The situation was hopeless and our pilots broke off the engagement and returned to base – with one exception, the CO.’ 

No one actually saw Mould go down, as is often the case. Rescue flights covered the area and found a patch of oil on the surface, the only trace. 

In the same book there is a picture of ‘Boy’ Mould’s Hurricane Z5265. Only the letter ‘T’ is painted on, not the ‘GL’.

Peter ‘Boy’ Mould with Hurricane during the Battle of France

P/O. Peter William Olber Mould. Malta Memorial. Panel 1, Column 1. Son of Charles Brown Mould and Ethel Marguerite Mould, husband of Phyllis Mould. Triple Blue – Rugby Football, Cricket, Athletics; R.A.F. College, Cranwell.

With thanks to the following: Brian Cull – ‘Hurricanes Over Malta’, The C.W.G.C. Note: Pilot Officer ‘Boy’ Mould had entered the RAF as a boy entrant in 1933. A great athlete, he was selected for a cadetship at the RAF College, Cranwell, where he became a triple Blue at rugby, cricket and athletics. Having claimed the unit’s first aerial victory, he added eight more victories over France, six of them during the blitzkrieg. He was killed in action over Malta as a Squadron Commander on 1 October 1941.

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