HMS Unicorn turns its support role into Korean War gunfire

A discussion of aggressive Royal Navy carrier practice turns to HMS Unicorn in the Korean War. The ship's normal value lay in supplying spare aircraft and reinforcing the operating carrier, though it also carried 4-inch guns. Unicorn engaged a shore target while HMS Ocean remained the principal aviation carrier, an example of a support ship exploiting the weapons available to it. The anecdote shows that a maintenance carrier could contribute directly to combat rather than remain only a floating store and workshop.