Luftwaffe units operating over North Herts/south cambs night of 18/19th February 1944

[Brian Bines]

For this raid the Luftwaffe planned to put 200 aircraft over London between 0050-0120hrs they reported that 187 aircraft attacked the UK suffering eleven losses ( 3 aircraft missing, 4 crashing on the Continent and two falling to Intruders on return with crews killed/injured, plus 2 crashing on return crews safe).
RAF report says at 2350hrs 60 aircraft picked up over N/E France heading north and shortly after 120 aircraft appeared on radar from Holland. These two forces joining some 30 miles east of Harwich and crossed the coast between Happisburgh and the Thames Estuary.
Home Office Key Point report just give that at 0100hrs HE and IB bombs fell at RAF Nuthampstead but no details given. The London Red Alert that night was between 0036-0144hrs, outside London 50 incidents were reported in Essex, 20 in Hertfordshire, 5 in Suffolk, 3 in Cambridgeshire and one each in Norfolk and Bucks.
Bombloads were ofton two HE bombs or two IB containers on underwing racks with 10x50kg. bombs carried internally on Ju88/188's. Ju188's of both II/KG2 and I/KG6 were shown as having bombloads of 2xAB1000 IB containers and 10 BC50 on this raid.
The white flares reported over Nuthampstead may have been route markers for those bombers on a north approach to London.
Is it possible the bombs dropped on Nuthampstead were from the same aircraft i.e. HE. dropped on the north-south run with the aircraft turning to make a second run and dropping the IB's ?