Taihō's upper and lower hangars were approximately 150 m (492 ft 2 in) long and 5 m (16 ft 5 in) high. The upper hangar was 1 m (3 ft 3 in) wider than the lower. Fighters were normally stowed in the middle and forward sections of the upper hangar and were raised to flight deck level using the bow elevator to facilitate more rapid handling. Dive bombers occupied the remaining upper hangar spaces with torpedo bombers stowed in the lower hangar. With greater all-up weights and longer take-off runs than the fighters, these planes were brought up to the flight deck using the aft elevator where they could then be spotted as far astern as possible
The
Shōkaku-class carriers' 242.2-meter (794 ft 7 in) flight deck had a maximum width of 29 meters and overhung the
superstructure at both ends, supported by pillars. Ten transverse
arrestor wires were installed on the flight deck that could stop a 4,000-kilogram (8,800 lb) aircraft. If the aircraft missed those, it could be stopped by one of three
crash barricades. Although space and weight were allocated for two
aircraft catapults, their development was not completed before the
Shōkaku-class ships were sunk. The ships were designed with two superimposed
hangars; the upper hangar was about 200 meters (656 ft 2 in) long and had a width that varied between 18.5 and 24 meters (60 ft 8 in and 78 ft 9 in). It had a height of 4.85 meters (15 ft 11 in) while the lower hangar was 4.7 meters (15 ft 5 in) high and only usable by fighters. The lower hangar was about 20 meters (65 ft 7 in) shorter than the upper one and its width ranged from 17.5 to 20 meters (57 ft 5 in to 65 ft 7 in). Together they had a total area of 5,545 square meters (59,690 sq ft).
[6] Each hangar could be subdivided by five or six fire curtains and they were fitted with
fire fighting foam dispensers on each side. The lower hangar was also fitted with a
carbon dioxide fire suppression system. Each subdivision was provided with a pair of enclosed and armored stations to control the fire curtains and fire fighting equipment.
The
Shōkaku-class carriers were initially intended to have an air group of 96, including 24 aircraft in reserve. These were envisioned as 12
Mitsubishi A5M ("Claude")
monoplane fighters, 24
Aichi D1A2 ("Susie") Type 96
dive bombers, 24
Mitsubishi B5M ("Mabel") Type 97 No. 2
torpedo bombers, and 12
Nakajima C3N Type 97
reconnaissance aircraft.
[10] All of these aircraft were either superseded by larger, more modern aircraft or cancelled while the ships were being built, so the air group was revised to consist of 18
Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, 27
Aichi D3A ("Val") dive bombers, and 27
Nakajima B5N ("Kate") torpedo bombers.
[11] In addition, the ship carried 2 Zeros, 5 "Vals", and 5 "Kates" as spares for a total of 84 aircraft.
Taihō's planned air complement varied considerably throughout her design and construction. Initially, it was envisioned she would carry 126 aircraft (with 30 of these in reserve). Later, this was pared down to 64, raised again to 78 and finally reduced to 53. One reason for the discrepancy in numbers was (in sharp contrast to the United States) the Imperial Japanese Navy's lack of insistence that its carrier planes have the smallest possible
folded wingspan (many designs' folded only near the tips, while the wings of the
Yokosuka D4Y Suisei dive-bomber did not fold at all). Her aircraft capacity was also changed based on previous wartime experience and the fact that
Taihō was expected to carry larger newer-model carrier planes still under development at the time of her construction: 24
Mitsubishi A7M2 Reppu "Sam"
fighters, 25
Aichi B7A2 Ryusei "Grace"
torpedo bombers and four
Nakajima C6N1 Saiun "Myrt"
reconnaissance planes. As none of these types were available at the time of her commissioning,
Taihō went to sea with older-model aircraft.