Peden and his crew arrived at RAF Chedburgh late in the afternoon of 22 September, ready to begin the operational tour. At the time of his arrival, 214 was flying Short Stirlings. The night of his arrival Peden was assigned to fly as a co-pilot in a bombing raid on Hanover. Peden described his thoughts upon hearing of the target, saying, "I felt a tremour. Hanover struck me as a pretty deep penetration for my maiden effort into the fatherland." Following the sortie he explained his feeling of relief, stating, "[w]e had been flying for five hours and 25 minutes, and I had never experienced a sensation of relief quite as intoxicatingly satisfying as what I felt as I climbed out the rear doors and stepped onto the lovely, wonderful, marvelous, fabulous, solid old concrete of that good old dispersal." The following night Peden flew again as a co-pilot, this time in a raid on Mannheim. On the night of 25/26 September, Peden flew his first operational sortie with his own crew. This sortie was a "gardening" operation in the Frisians. Again on 2/3 October Peden's crew flew a gardening sortie, this time around Anholt Island. On 3/4 October the crew flew their first major bombing operation with Kassel as the target. The night of 8/9 October saw the crew fly a raid on Bremen. After this sixth sortie, on 15 October Peden and his crew were granted leave. At this time he returned to Glasgow to visit family again.