Unicorn made other aircraft carriers work

Unicorn repeatedly acted like an aircraft carrier, from Salerno strike operations to Korean combat air patrol. Her distinctive purpose was to keep other carriers supplied, repaired, and operational across global distances. That support role turned workshops, spare aircraft, and logistics capacity into a force multiplier for scarce front-line flight decks. The closing counterfactuals ask how early completion might have changed 1941 operations and whether the United States or Japan would have copied the auxiliary concept if war had been delayed. Carrier numbers alone do not reveal fleet capability. Maintenance and replenishment depth determine how much sustained work those carriers can perform.