Improving Taiho means more than thicker armour

How could the Japanese carrier Taiho be made more survivable?

Strengthen protection and anti-aircraft armament, with priority given to safer fuel, ventilation, and damage-control arrangements.

The three-inch armoured flight deck could remain, with a thicker lower protective deck to reduce the chance that a penetration reaches vital spaces. The weak 25 mm battery should be replaced, the number of 100 mm mounts increased, and deck-edge lifts considered to preserve armour continuity while opening hangar and flight-deck working space. The decisive changes, however, concern aviation fuel, ventilation, and trained damage-control parties. Taiho's response spread fuel vapour by running general ventilation and opening the ship rather than isolating the hazard. Better fuel-system management and British- or American-style safety practices could make the existing armoured concept much more survivable. An armoured carrier depends on structure, stability, procedures, and crew competence as well as a thick flight deck.