The request for ‘Special Duties’ crews was undoubtedly due to 617 Squadrons low flying expertise. And on the 9th of December, Clayton, ‘Chuffy’ Bull and a new crew led by Canadian Flg Off Gordon Weedon flew down to Tempsford. They were briefed to drop containers of arms and ammunition to French resistance groups near the town of Doullens the following night. The two ‘Special Duties’ units based at Tempsford (No 138 and 161 Squadrons, equipped with Halifax bombers) usually undertook these missions, but were fully committed to similar operations. A lone flak gun near the town’s railway station engaged Weedon,with his aircraft in flames, Weedon attempted to evade further damage but flew into a hill on the edge of town. The six crew in the forward section of the plane died instantly, rear gunner WO Robert Cummings ( an American serving in the RCAF) was found badly injured several hundred yards from the plane, he died the following day. Right on Weedons tail was ‘Chuffy’ Bull, he was engaged by the same flak gun , with a fuel tank on fire he managed to avoid the hill and climb to 800 ft, at which point most of the crew bailed out. However the wireless operator was in the upper turret, helping to look for the drop zone, and he and the rear gunner perished when the aircraft crashed a few miles further on. Clayton was unable to locate the drop zone and returned to Tempsford with his cargo still aboard. On the 20th , accompanied by Ken Brown, Joe McCarthy and Nick Ross, all temporarily attached to 138 Sq, they tried again but faired no better. Dejected the four crews returned to Coningsby. While this was going on 617 Squadron was back flying ‘ops’. A raid to bomb the V1 site at Flixecourt in France on the 16th and an armaments factory at Leige Belgium on the 20th had very poor results. Both attacks were preceded by 'Pathfinders' marking the target, however marking was so poor most aircraft returned with their load intact. Returning from the Leige raid, dams veteran Geoff Rice was attacked by a night-fighter.The aircraft crashed with only Rice able to bail out. He managed to evade the Germans for two months before being captured. A Belgium police report indicated that wireless-operator WO Bruce Gowrie survived the crash but was shot by German soldiers ‘while trying to escape’. Two further operations, to a V1 site in the Pas de Calaise and a return to Flixecourt, suffered from similar poor target marking and again crews were unable to bomb. 1943 closed with 617 Squadron at a low ebb. Since forming 9 months earlier they had lost a C/O, four Flight Leaders and fourteen crews, recent missions had been so poor more bombs were returned than dropped, Cheshire decided something had to be done and done now. He knew what the problem was and he had a solution, he went to see AVM Cochrane. Cheshire explained that the marker flares were being dropped from so high, they either drifted away from the target or were going out before the bombers were in position to see them. He suggested it should be done from ‘very low level' instead. Cochrane felt this was too hazardous and suggested trying from 5,000 ft. Cheshire reluctantly agreed but in turn asked that 617 Squadron be allowed to do it’s own target marking and dispense with the Pathfinders, to which Cochrane agreed. On January 20th, 11 aircraft returned to the V1 site in the Pas de Calaise, most aircraft carried 14 x 1000 lb bombs however 2 of the re-converted ‘Dambusters’ could only carry 11 due to the structural alterations. Arriving over the target, Cheshire dropped marker flares, although, smoke from the flares drifted obscuring the aim point, and this combined with heavy flak, caused several aircraft to make multiple runs before bomb release. The result was a great improvement with substantial damage observed, but it could be better. It was not only Cheshire who was pondering this marking issue, Mick Martin too was giving it serious thought…..