Yes, 101s were under a unified command since 2000, but my point was it made more sense to have them all under Royal Navy control. 101s were not removed from the RAF because they were not doing what they were bought to do. The RAF requirements grew to a heavy lift helicopter which, as I stated earlier, by no measure is the AW101 a heavy lift helicopter. So lets be fair and compare apples to apples shall we....... unless you want to compare the CH-47 to the new CH-53K?
Why does it make sense to have them under RN control? I am not saying you are wrong, but I don't understand how you've arrived at that conclusion.....
The Puma is not a heavy lift helicopter, but it was kept by the RAF (and trust me there was a fight on that one) at the expense of the Merlin..... apples with apples, as you say.
Incidentally, I still didn't see the Royal Navy going after the CH-47 in any way.
Perhaps the 3000 miles of ocean drowned out the sound of knives being sharpened and the screeching of tyres as exchange pilot after exchange pilot pitched up from the RN for CH47 conversion in the early 2000's.
If you talk to guys that have flown or worked with 101s in Iraq and Afghanistan, they were stellar.
You are right - the guys were/are stellar. The aircraft however was next to useless during the summer.