Aso was about 60 percent complete when construction stopped, leaving photographs in which the underlying hull form is unusually easy to study. Without the completed flight-deck structure dominating the view, the fine bow and flowing hydrodynamic lines stand out. The Ikoma design used straighter, simpler shaping to speed construction and improve survival against submarines after Japan's heavy losses to that threat. That simplification made the later hull easier and faster to build but was likely to reduce efficiency and practical speed. The photographs make the wartime trade between hydrodynamic performance and buildability visible.
Notable Point · 28:59-30:07
Aso reveals the efficient original hull form
The incomplete Aso exposes the clean lines of the original design and the tradeoffs imposed by later construction simplification.