An angled deck exposes an inherited elevator conflict

The class began from a flat-top design intended to combine fleet-carrier work with a heavy strike component. The first two ships were changed to angled decks during construction, while the later pair incorporated that arrangement from the outset. A forward port elevator sat beneath the paths of both waist catapults, so operating those catapults made the lift unavailable. Aircraft also had to cross working deck space to reach the launch positions. The conflict reveals how jet-era angled-deck operations imposed demands that the original axial layout had not anticipated.