Akagi and Kaga stacked bomber and fighter flying-off decks beneath the landing deck in an attempt to launch several aircraft types at once. Growing aircraft rapidly made the lower openings too short and turned the layered arrangement into lost hangar and flight-deck capacity. The ships also tested islands on opposite sides so paired carriers might operate together. Their later single-deck rebuilds acknowledged reality, while the port-side island showed how pilot reactions and exhaust routing could turn a symmetrical theory into an operational hazard.
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Akagi and Kaga multiplied flying decks instead of capacity
Three flying levels promised simultaneous bomber and fighter launches but proved incompatible with growing aircraft and efficient carrier operations.