Make-do-and-mend operational culture

Veterans' accounts describe a make-do-and-mend culture that extended from the lower deck into operational command. British doctrine asked what could be done with the ships actually available, in contrast with German and Italian hopes for a more perfect force. Formidable was risked against airfields during the Crete evacuation because the attacking aircraft were inflicting severe losses on the fleet. During Operation Pedestal, carriers entered single-engine fighter range of Sicily because sustaining Malta was strategically indispensable. These decisions accepted danger in order to use imperfect assets at the point of greatest need.