Unicorn disguises carrier capability as aviation sustainment

Ordered in April 1939, Unicorn shared a design lineage with Ark Royal, the Illustrious class, and later British fleet carriers. Her two hangars, lifts, arresting gear, single catapult, aviation fuel, and workshops were justified as equipment for moving, repairing, and supplying aircraft rather than conducting combat operations. That support depth mattered because the armored Illustrious-class ships lacked Ark Royal's lower hangar for extensive maintenance and could not carry American-style reserves in the overheads. Unicorn's eight four-inch guns and 24-knot speed sat just inside the revised auxiliary limits. Together, these features let her sustain a carrier force and, when required, operate a 33-to-36-aircraft group of her own.