While the opening months of the war were characterised by little air activity in general, there were sporadic engagements and aerial skirmishes between the two sides. On 30 October 1939 Hurricanes saw action over France. That day, Pilot Officer P. W. O. "Boy" Mould of 1 Squadron, flying Hurricane L1842, shot down a Dornier Do 17P from 2(F)/123. The German aircraft, sent to photograph Allied airfields close to the border, fell in flames about west of Toul. Mould was the first RAF pilot to down an enemy aircraft on the European continent in the Second World War. According to Mason, the experiences gained in these early engagements proved invaluable in developing tactics which became tried and tested, and rapidly spread throughout Fighter Command.