The record
The WMIK was designed for the army's reconnaissance regiments, but the SAS had pioneered the idea of a Land Rover as a mobile gun platform, and the Royal Marines took to it for the same reason: a commando brigade fighting a long way from its ships needs something faster than a foot patrol and lighter than an armoured vehicle. The Recce Troop of 40 Commando and the Brigade Patrol Troop of 3 Commando Brigade ran WMIKs alongside the Parachute Regiment's Pathfinders, the Royal Irish and the RAF Regiment.
The layout is the standard WMIK. The rear roll-cage carries a well in which the gunner stands, swinging his weapon through a full 360 degrees on a rail — a .50 heavy machine gun, a 40 mm grenade machine gun or a 7.62 mm GPMG — with a Milan anti-tank launcher mountable on the rear bars. The passenger side, normally the commander's station, has a pintle mount that usually carries a GPMG. Underneath is the Wolf TUM HS with its 300 Tdi and 24-volt electrics, with a roll cage lowered to fit a Chinook. The sand finish, side spare and patrol stowage are the marks of Operation Telic and Herrick service, where the Marines' WMIKs saw most of their fighting.
Numbers held by the Royal Marines are not published.
