Royal Marine vehicles, amphibious brigades, and budget choices

Why have the Royal Marines avoided an amphibious personnel carrier?

Postwar force choices and the value of keeping the service relatively inexpensive have favored lighter vehicles over US-style assault amphibians.

The Royal Marines lost their armored-warfare section soon after the Second World War and retained BV-series tracked vehicles rather than US-style assault amphibians. Commodore Clapp's pressure to take light tanks to the Falklands illustrates the disputed place of armor in the force. One proposed alternative would equip the Marines and Army strike brigades with compatible amphibious personnel carriers, creating a Marine amphibious strike brigade and two Army formations able to follow it ashore. River-crossing ability alone would not make an Army vehicle suitable for that Marine role. Keeping comparatively inexpensive vehicles also helps the Marines defend their value for money during budget decisions. Their contribution of personnel to special forces strengthens that institutional argument.