training in the weekends at Redhill. The following year, he applied to receive full-time training with the Royal Air Force (RAF). He gained his wings in August 1939, just before the outbreak of the Second World War. Second World War Following the invasion of Poland, Hyde was mobilised for war service. He was loaned to the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), being posted to No. 769 Training Squadron at Donibristle in Scotland. Here he flew Gloster Gladiators fighters and Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers, and practiced landing on the aircraft carrier HMS Furious. In October, he and another RAFVR pilot deliberately failed their FAA training and were posted to No. 66 Squadron. Hyde's new unit, based at Duxford and operating the Supermarine Spitfire fighter, regularly patrolled the North Sea and was occasionally scrambled on interception missions. In May 1940, the squadron helped with air cover over the evacuation beaches at Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo. Afterwards, the squadron was based at Coltishall and during the early stages of the Battle of Britain it resumed its patrol duties over the North Sea. Service on Malta In mid-July, Hyde was posted to No. 418 Flight, based at Abbotsinch as a delivery flight to transfer Hawker Hurricane fighters from an aircraft carrier to Malta. The island had been under siege from the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Italian Air Force) following the entry of Italy into the Second World War the previous month. The flight of twelve pilots embarked on the HMS Argus on 20 July and after a stop at Gibraltar, flew their Hurricanes off the aircraft carrier on 2 August. The Hurricanes arrived at Luqa after a flight of nearly three hours. It had originally been intended that the pilots would return to Gibraltar via a flying boat but it was later decided that they would stay on Malta as the basis of a new flying unit, No. 261 Squadron; this was to be the first fighter squadron on the island. At the time of the squadron's formation, the Regia Aeronautica was regularly bombing Malta and, on 8 September, Hyde destroyed two Fiat CR.42 Falco fighters off Grand Harbour. He shot down a Macchi C.200 Saetta fighter on 4 October. By this time, the squadron was operating from Takali as the strip at Luqa was required for use by recently arrived RAF bombers. On 10 January 1941, the squadron helped provide cover for the stricken aircraft