Door Slider: No point in asking that one, its been many years since the RAF removed them all. Also yes, I could have worded the apache question better, 'since the RAF attempted to prevent the AAC taking delivery of the apache.' Is that better?
SimonK Thank you for the designation troll. I take it my 8500 hours helicopters up to and including chinooks doesn't count?
Come on guys, you can do better than this. I accept that the army are not the only customers, but by far they are the main customers. None of the other roles not army support could not be carried out by the AAC just as well.
Regarding their use by the Royal Marines, that's another question - the commandos were originally army units, set up for combined operations with the RAF and the Navy, but their role was transferred to the navy after WWII, for reasons never quite explained other than the Senior Service, knowing that air power had replaced the surface fleet in a large number of areas, felt the need to have some more 'turf' and had the political pull to do so.
It's a bit like suggesting the Paras should be transferred to the RAF because its their job to deliver them. ( I know the German paras in WWII were part of the Luftwaffe and not the Wermacht. )