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before an operation; perhaps senses were more finely attuned during those difficult times. There were no more problems coming home. The Zuider Zee came up, Gee came back on stream and the gradual let-down over the North Sea to land at base at 01.15 hours. We were welcomed by the WAAF Officer in the debriefing room with hot tea laced with real Jamaica rum and bacon and egg in the mess. It was nice to be back.
    Two nights later when eighty-nine Mosquitoes went to various city targets one of the aircraft that failed to return from the raid on Hamburg was claimed by Oberleutnant Kurt Welter of II./NJG11. 147 Unteroffizier Scherl of 8./NJG1 claimed a Mosquito east of Hagen on the night of 12/13 December when 540 aircraft attacked Essen and, although six Lancasters were lost, all twenty-eight Mosquitoes that attacked Essen and forty-nine others that raided Osnabrück returned safely. 148 Another daylight raid was despatched on 11 December when two waves drawn from 128 Squadron raided Hamborn. When 13 December broke it was under a very heavy frost and towards mid-morning thick fog enveloped stations in Norfolk and operations were scrubbed very early. That night fifty-two Lancasters and seven Mosquitoes of 5 Group flew to Norway to attack the German cruiser Köln but by the time they reached Oslo Fjord, the ship had sailed so instead other ships were bombed. On 15/16 December 327 Lancasters and Mosquitoes of 1, 6 and 8 Groups raided Ludwigshafen and one Lancaster was lost.
    On 18 December the size of 8 Group was increased when 162 Squadron reformed at Bourn under the command of Wing Commander J.D. Bolton DFC . The squadron was operational in two days but crews were unable to complete night flying tests on their H 2 S-equipped Mosquito B.XXVs because of the foggy weather. At Bourn on the afternoon of 21 December the crews were called to briefing for a Spoof raid on the important marshalling yards at Cologne/Nippes which the ‘heavies’ would bomb an hour or two later, the purpose being to help cut the jugular vein feeding the Ardennes offensive. Altogether, 136 aircraft  sixty-seven Lancasters, fifty-four Halifaxes and fifteen Mosquitoes of 4, 6, and 8 Groups, were despatched and no aircraft were lost. Soon 162 Squadron was accompanying 139 Squadron on target-marking duties. In December some Mosquito Oboe aircrew were selected to fly a new technique, as Flight Lieutenant John D.S. Garratt, a navigator on 109 Squadron at Little Staughton explains:
    From time to time many enterprising COs devised schemes (some cracked-brained) for improving bombing accuracy and results, or for meeting emergency calls. One such scheme which involved 109 Squadron in December 1944, was the Formation Daylight. The idea was for an Oboe equipped aircraft to act as Lead Ship (to borrow the American term) for a small force of Light Night Striker Mosquitoes, each carrying 4,000 pounders to attack small, vital targets in daylight, thus achieving, it was hoped, great precision. For some odd reason, two 582 Squadron Lancaster B.Vls, specially adapted for the leadership role, were at first allocated. The Lanc VI was good for 28,000ft, but its cruising speed was incompatible with the Mosquito IX or XVI. It was to carry an extra Oboe pilot and navigator of 109 Squadron to fly the specialized bombing run. This arrangement was not popular with the Oboe Mossie crews.
    One of these was Flight Lieutenant Bob Jordan and Ronnie Plunkett of 105 Squadron at Bourn. Plunkett heard about the scheme on 9 December:
    My pilot and myself were asked to operate the Oboe on the operation, which took place on 23 December. [To disrupt enemy reinforcements for the Battle of the Bulge, an attack on the Cologne/Gremberg railway marshalling yards would be made by twenty-seven Lancasters and three Mosquitoes, while fifty-two Mosquitoes were to attack the railyards at Limburg and forty more to Siegburg]. We were to lead the second formation of ten, while Squadron Leader R.A.M. Palmer DFC