Bearn's specialised lifts and obstructed flight deck

Bearn used separate lifts with different capacities for fighters, reconnaissance aircraft, and torpedo bombers. The forward fighter lift carried only two tons, while the reconnaissance lift had a five-ton limit and its own dimensional restriction. The torpedo-bomber lift occupied a larger square space, leaving each aircraft category dependent on a particular handling arrangement. Clamshell doors over the openings introduced a further complication on the flight deck. The criticism is that moving aircraft between hangar and deck could obstruct operations or endanger aircraft already above, even before launch and recovery began.