Why patrol crews needed to know their orders' purpose

Coastal Command maintained patrols off the French coast and along the Channel to detect German warships attempting to return to Germany. Pilots and squadron or wing commanders were not told why those patrols mattered. When mechanical problems caused all three patrols to become absent, return, or be cancelled, the officers involved lacked the context needed to appreciate the danger. The example broadens the criticism of Lutjens's command habits: British officers could also fail to connect an immediate task with the operation it supported.