HMS Unicorn (I72)

HMS "Unicorn" (I72) was a UK maintenance aircraft carrier and occasional light fleet carrier that saw war service in World War II from 1943 until the Japanese surrender and again during the Korean War. She was the only ship of her class, her design influenced by the "Ark Royal" class.

She was used in war service in the Atlantic and Mediterranean in 1943, East Indies in 1944-1945, Pacific in 1945, and Korea 1950 to 1953.

Her construction began in 1939, at Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland and she was first commissioned on March 12, 1943. She became operational in 1943 and was originally allocated to the Eastern Fleet although later it was decided to retain her for home water service. Temporarily operated as a fleet carrier, she was then assigned to a supply and repair role with facilities to handle and repair any aircraft used by the Fleet Air Arm, including seaplanes. There were workshops and necessary stores, including 36,000 gallons of aviation fuel.

On 24 March 1943, 3 squadrons were embarked on "Unicorn" for deck landing training in the Clyde and anti-submarine operations in home waters. On 8 June 1943, "Unicorn", attached to the Home Fleet, carried out a sweep to the north of Norway with "Illustrious", returning safely in early July.

Despite her intended role as an aircraft depot ship, her next operational assignment, in August 1943, was as a light fleet carrier. She joined "Force V", a flotilla of British aircraft carriers supporting Operation Avalanche, the Allied landings at Salerno. Force V was commanded by Admiral Philip Vian and also comprised the escort aircraft carriers "Attacker", "Battler", "Hunter" and "Stalker". This duty was extended from two to five days, at the request of the army commander.

There were particular problems with the "Seafire" aircraft flying off the escort carriers. These carriers had a relatively slow speed which, with the windless conditions at the time, made landings risky: more aircraft were lost through mishaps than through enemy action. By the end of the assignment, the original one hundred and eighty Seafires had been reduced to just thirty.

After Operation Avalanche, "Unicorn" returned to supply and repair duties, for aircraft repair and transport, and fleet backup and support.

By early 1944, "Unicorn" was in the Far East, once again as an operational carrier due to the delayed arrival of "Victorious".

In late 1944, she was transferred to the newly-formed British Pacific Fleet and helped to set up Mobile Naval Air Bases (MONABs) in Australia. These were needed to enable the Royal Navy and other "Empire Navies" to operate independently in the Pacific. An advance party of MONAB II with sixteen crated aircraft was landed from "Unicorn" in December 1944, at RAAF Bankstown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. These were to be assembled by the advance party, with RAAF assistance. In 1945, she was serving with Task Force 112 at Manus when Japan surrendered.

After World War II, in January 1946, "Unicorn" returned to Plymouth, was decommissioned and reduced to the reserve list. But in 1949 she was reactivated for service on the Far Eastern Station, arriving at Singapore in October with a cargo of aircraft. She was due to return home in September 1950 but in June that year the Korean War broke out and she remained in the Far East until October 1953. During this time, she was much in demand as a troopship carrying many thousands of service personnel to and from the fighting. She also supported the Royal Navy and Commonwealth aircraft carriers in Korean waters. On several occasions, she joined in the action, flying her own aircraft and acting as a spare flight deck. Once, she engaged enemy positions in North Korea with her 4 inch battery, thereby becoming more closely engaged than any of the other carriers.

In March 1957 she was reduced to extended reserve service and in 1958 was decommissioned, placed on the disposal list and sold as scrap. In June 1959, she left Devonport for the last time, heading for the Clyde under tow to be stripped at Dalmuir and broken up at Troon less than a year later.

References

# "Western Evening Herald" (November 2, 1983)
# "Jane's Fighting Ships" (various editions)

External links

* [http://telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/17/db1702.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/12/17/ixportal.html Obituary of Captain George Baldwin, former naval aviator on "Unicorn"]
* [http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Ships/Unicorn.html Fleet Air Arm history of "Unicorn"]
* [http://royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/MONABS/index.htm History and description of the MONABs]
* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/pages/aircraft_carriers/hms_unicorn_d72.htm MaritimeQuest HMS Unicorn I-72 Pages]