Lewin of Greenwich Naval History & Forum

A nice shot of Unicorn off Kure or Sasebo in 1951.

The interesting thing about Unicorn was that bay under her aft flight deck overhang - it held a barge for ferrying aircraft to/from shore!

I always felt that the RN missed a trick with her... building a couple more (or fitting a couple of Colossus with a similar bay) would have allowed for a neat "commando carrier" conversion in the mid-1950s... put a couple of vehicle landing craft in there (something bigger than the 4 LCVPs carried by Bulwark & Albion), in addition to those 4 LCVPs along the flight deck edge, and convert the entire lower hangar to troop berthing & support, leaving the upper hangar for helicopters (the floor of the upper hangar might need to be lowered a few feet to allow Wessex to be maintained).

I always wondered why the RN's commando carriers only carried 4 LCVPs () when the RAN managed to fit 6 LCM-6s on Sydney in 1968.

The overhang aft in Unicorn was the stowage for the aircraft lighter. The hanger also had an opening aft in the same place to allow aircraft engines to be test run in the hanger.

HMS Hermes...c1930.

HMS Argus pictured loading Spitfires for Operation Torch in late 1942.

a few more of Argus, we got our money's worth from this old ship. she had a retractable "chart house" in the middle of the fore-part of the flight deck which was lowered so its roof became flat with the deck to allow flying off.

couple more of Argus

Mail transfer to HMS Ark Royal.

Carrier HMS Argus pictured during her conversion from a passenger liner at William Beardmore & Co Shipyards at Dalmiur,Glasgow in 1917.

HMS Ark Royal pictured from K Class Destroyer HMS Kelvin. Mediterranean Sea, November 1940.