And the other boot drops….
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/news/uk/r...sels-2s2r3mbfs
Mothballing assault ships ‘will spell the end of Royal Marines
’Two amphibious assault ships are to be mothballed under government plans to make up for a severe sailor shortage in what critics have described as “the beginning of the end for the Royal Marines”.
Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, has put forward proposals to retire HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark from active service, The Times can reveal.
The move would free more than 200 sailors to crew new ships. But a source familiar with the plans said it would weaken the elite force by taking away one of its central purposes — storming beaches from the sea. “It would be the beginning of the end for the Royal Marines,” they said.
The manpower crisis is deemed so acute across the navy that the Ministry of Defence is also planning to decommission two older vessels, HMS Westminster and HMS Argyll, as soon as this year. The crews of all four ships would be sent to work across the new fleet of Type 26 frigates as they come into service.
It is understood that the Royal Navy has been pushing for the vessels to be scrapped and Royal Marine numbers to be slashed for years to spare other assets but Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary, repeatedly refused.
He told senior naval chiefs that the sailors could be found from within the existing service, as thousands are currently in shore-based roles.
A senior naval source said the final plans for the amphibious assault ships were on the desk of Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, who is expected to give them the go-ahead. An MoD source said that no decision had been made, adding: “If a decision is made on them, they would remain in a state of extended readiness.”….
By mothballing HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, up to 250 sailors will be released to man the new frigates, of which there will eventually be eight. They will be the navy’s most advanced submarine-hunting warships to date….
HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion’s role is to “deliver the punch of the Royal Marines ashore by air and by sea, with boats from the landing dock in the belly of the ship and by assault helicopter from the two-spot flight deck”, according to the navy.
The ships had been expected to remain in service until the early 2030s, with HMS Bulwark recently given an expensive refit. A naval source said they would be “kept in the cupboard” to be “dusted off” if needed.