HMS Unicorn (I72): The Only Carrier to Fight a Shore Battle With Her Own Guns

A Revolutionary Design

HMS Unicorn was ordered from Harland and Wolff in Belfast on 14 April 1939, laid down that June, and after wartime construction delays finally launched on 20 November 1941 and completed on 12 March 1943.

At 640 feet long with a full flight deck, two hangars, aircraft lifts and extensive repair workshops, she was the first ship in any navy able to carry out the complete range of aircraft maintenance and repair work while also operating aircraft in her own right, a remarkably pioneering concept in naval aviation support.

Seafires Over Salerno

After working up with naval air squadrons in spring 1943 and taking part in Operation Governor off Norway, Unicorn's main combat role of the war came during the Salerno landings that September, when her Seafire fighters flew air cover sorties for the amphibious assault, though the operation revealed the type's notorious fragility with many aircraft damaged on landing.

The Eastern Fleet and the Pacific

Unicorn went on to join the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean, supporting carrier operations there before transferring to the newly formed British Pacific Fleet in late 1944, where she supported Operation Iceberg, the invasion of Okinawa, in 1945, putting her unique repair capabilities to good use keeping the fleet's aircraft flying through one of the war's most intense air campaigns.

A Ferry Carrier at War in Korea

Recommissioned in 1949, Unicorn spent the Korean War ferrying replacement aircraft and supplies to Commonwealth carriers operating off Korea between 1950 and 1953, and in October 1952 achieved an unusual distinction, becoming the only aircraft carrier ever to conduct a shore bombardment with her own guns during wartime, engaging North Korean coastwatchers at Chopekki Point.

Broken Up at Troon

Returned to reserve in November 1953, HMS Unicorn was placed on the disposal list in 1958, sold for scrap in June 1959 and broken up at Troon in 1960, closing out the career of a ship whose original repair-carrier concept proved its worth from the beaches of Salerno to the coast of Korea.