Operation Avalanche tests Unicorn as a strike carrier

With Philip Vian's flag aboard, Unicorn led Force V in direct support of the Salerno landings. Her air group comprised thirty Seafires and three Swordfish retained for anti-submarine work and possible attacks on surface ships. A single catapult, barriers, and an efficient deck organization generated 75 sorties on the first day and 60 on the next. The limiting factor was not Unicorn's launch system but the Seafires' inability to withstand repeated arrested landings, which drove daily output down as aircraft accumulated damage. Fitters and ship engineers worked overnight, other fleet carriers supplied replacements, and the fighters finally shifted to a rough airfield ashore where ordinary landings were less destructive.