Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:45:20-1:45:38

Why the Royal Navy needs LHDs more than a modern Unicorn

With two fleet carriers already in service, three amphibious assault ships would fill a more urgent gap than a dedicated carrier-support ship modeled on Unicorn.

Albion Class Landing Platform DocksAmphibious WarfareHMS OceanHMS UnicornLHDRoyal Navy
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Question

Would a modern version of HMS Unicorn make sense for the Royal Navy's two-carrier fleet?

Short answer

No; three moderately sized LHDs replacing Albion, Bulwark, Ocean, and Argus would provide more useful amphibious and aviation-support capacity.

Notes

A modern equivalent of the wartime carrier-support ship Unicorn is not the priority for today's two-carrier Royal Navy. Three landing helicopter docks could instead replace Albion, Bulwark, Ocean, and Argus across amphibious, aviation-support, and auxiliary roles. A design only somewhat larger than the Italian Trieste class could meet British requirements without inheriting the very high manpower demands of American Wasp-class LHDs. The proposal matches hull type and crewing model to the fleet's most serious capability gap.