Hōshō and Hermes turn carrier design into a blank-page problem

Hōshō and Hermes were experiments as much as operational ships, testing bridge forms, deck slopes, lift positions, and mixed floatplane capability. Unlike a conversion, a purpose-built carrier let designers shape the hull, structure, hangar, and airflow around aviation from the beginning. Lessons from converted ships still influenced their choices, including some compromises that later experience would reject. Their imperfections are therefore evidence of genuine first-generation work rather than simple design failure.