The weather on the night 24/25 February was "fair to cloudy, visibility moderate to good" and in Kirchhellen all the crews of Oblt. Werner's 3./NSG1 were briefed although only eight aircraft were serviceable. They were to attack targets of opportunity within a 10 km radius of Jülich, looking out especially for road transport columns showing lights. Despite the orders cited above, they were told that the only navigational aids available were a visual beacon near Linnich and another at Kirchhellen itself to home on. Take off was at 19.30 and V8+PD was the second aircraft to leave, carrying three SC 250s: its crew was Fw. Horst Erdmann (pilot) and Uffz. Günther Marth (gunner/radio operator). They climbed to 2,000m and headed for the target area. Once there they came down to 600 m to look for a likely target but at 20.17, before they found anything, they were hit by Allied light AA. Erdmann parachuted into captivity but Marth's fate is unknown (see Appendix 1).

Allied Intelligence monitored Luftwaffe operations throughout the night in some detail. Between 18.25 and 19.19 hrs., some 18 Fw 190s of NSG 20 and 11./KG 200 attacked Allied motor transport and troops at Goch with AB 500 and AB 250 canisters, causing several large fires; at 18.35, aircraft were overheard on an operation code-named WINTER (perhaps after the Staffelkapitän of 2./NSG 1); at 19.05, there was activity from Siegeburg to Aachen. From 21.40 to 01.10 hrs., aircraft thought to belong to NSG 1 were detected near Köln. Evidence from radio traffic suggested that the Germans achieved their aim of continuous operations until 05.58 but that these were not concentrated. A British summary of the week's attacks concluded dismissively that there was "no evidence that these aircraft have improved the accuracy of their bombing" and the monthly report remarked that "the scale of attack was not impressive" (something perhaps more easily said at Headquarters than in the front lines).

Wing Commander Peter Green claimed a total of 14 victories (plus 12 V-1 flying bombs), opening his score by shooting down a Do 217 on 14 April 1943, while serving with No. 85 Sqn. He was posted to command 219 Squadron in September 1944 and crewed up with F/L Douglas Oxby, himself the RAF's most successful radar operator of the war with an eventual score of 22. On 2 October 1944, this team claimed no fewer than three Ju 87s over Nijmegen, Holland where German airmen, troops and frogmen were all trying to cut the Allied supply line over the Waal road and rail bridges.

Green and Oxby were airborne from Airfield B-48, Amiens/Glisy at 21.45 hrs. and were handed over by GREENGROCER Control to REJOICE. They were flying a Mosquito NF Mk. 30, MM792 (call sign "Dickens 14") with centimetric radar. Altogether No. 85 Group sent out 34 Mosquitoes that night, covering an area between Aachen and the Scheldt. Oxby and Green patrolled north of Aachen on a north-south line, obtaining several contacts and visuals — two on Wellingtons, two on other Mosquitoes. The weather in their sector was better than the general situation and they enjoyed excellent visibility in clear skies under an almost full moon. Seeing light AA fire south of them, in the Jülich area, they were given permission to investigate and had set off to patrol east of the firing when at 23.20 they gained a weak contact 5 km northeast of Jülich at 7 km range and a little below their own altitude of 1,500 m.

The contact was crossing port to starboard at about 120° and Green followed in a hard turn to starboard, coming in below and behind the bogey which he was able to confirm from about 600 m range as a Ju 87. Realising he was closing too rapidly, he orbited hard to the right, losing visual contact in the process. When radar contact was re-established, the German was 2 km away and 30° to starboard; visual was regained at 600 m range. As the night fighter closed in, the Ju 87 began a violent corkscrew manoeuvre, diving to the right as Green opened fire with one ring's deflection from 200 m away. Unhit, the Junkers steadied and then peeled off to port. This time a two-second burst of 20 mm cannon fire caused fragments to fly off the bomber. Following his victim into a steep dive, Green fired two more bursts, inflicting more damage and then starting a fire. Now at 500 m altitude they passed over the Junkers as it went down and Oxby was able to see it hit the ground and explode. Turning hard, Green too reported that he saw the enemy plane burning on the ground at Forst Hambach. The kill was timed at 23.25 hrs. and just under an hour later they landed back at base.

Within days, Green was dead. "It is with deep regret that we record the death of our Commanding Officer DSO, DFC in a flying accident near Amiens today" is how, on 1 March 1945, the Operations Record Book of No. 219 Squadron RAF marked the passing of 2 Tactical Air Force's most successful night fighter pilot, killed while test-flying one of the Squadron's Mosquitoes that had been giving persistent trouble.

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