Were lower flying-off decks like hangar catapults?

Were the lower flying-off decks on Courageous and Glorious equivalent to US hangar-deck catapults?

Broadly, yes, but the US catapult imposed a smaller penalty because it consumed hangar space without permanently breaking up the ship's flight deck and hangar volume.

The comparison is broadly valid because both arrangements attempted to launch aircraft from hangar level while the main deck remained available. American hangar catapults imposed the smaller penalty because their machinery occupied local hangar space without shortening the entire operating deck. The Courageous-class opening removed flight-deck length, hangar capacity, and maintenance volume whether or not it was being used. Two superficially similar launch ideas could therefore impose very different whole-ship penalties.