LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Landon Pleasents MOONEY
Service No: 403063
Born: Melbourne VIC, 20 July 1913
Enlisted in the RAAF: 9 December 1940 (at Sydney NSW)
Unit: No. 118 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 118 Squadron Spitfire aircraft AD209), off the English Coast, 25 April 1942, Aged 28 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Vincent William and Lisle Mooney; husband of Elizabeth Jean Mooney, of Kingsford, New South Wales, Australia.
Roll of Honour: Sydney NSW
Remembered: Panel 113, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 127, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Spitfire AD209 flown by Sergeant Mooney as Black No. 2 was part of a formation of Spitfires detailed to provide close escort to six Bostons detailed to attack the docks at Cherbourg, France. At approximately 0930 hours when the formation was returning and some 30 miles from the Needles, Black section who were on the right of the bombers were attacked from above and behind by several ME109s. Black 1 took violent evasive action and did not see Black 2 again. Black 1 called up Black 2 and heard a very distracted transmission which he took to be Black 1. Ibsley Direction Finding Station heard Black 2 ask for a homing, and Ibsley continued to give homings for some time without reply from Black 2. No transmissions were made by Black 2 for an ASR frequency.
It was presumed that Black 2 was shot down by the Me109s about 25 miles south of the Needles. A search by aircraft and boats were made that day but no trace of the missing pilot or aircraft were found. It was later recorded that Sergeant Mooney had lost his life at sea.
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 163/145/216