Henderson, Unicorn, and delayed carrier priorities

The Royal Navy's lack of carrier reserve was worsened when Unicorn, a ship that could support aviation and foreshadow the light fleet carrier, was delayed for roughly two years. Reginald Henderson's death left a gap in the Third Sea Lord's office at the moment carrier construction needed a forceful advocate. Bruce Fraser eventually pushed work forward, but he entered the post with less experience and soon moved on to fleet command. A longer Henderson tenure or an earlier, orderly handover might have kept more carrier work moving while Britain supplied the Atlantic war. The counterfactual is institutional: plans and ship concepts existed, but they needed senior authority to compete for hulls and labor.