"Soryu, built under the 1931-32 Supplementary Programme, was the model for nearly all the later Japanese carriers: fast, lightly built, and intended to deliver blows but not receive them. The flight deck was 711ft 6in x 85ft 4in, and the two hangers were served by three lifts. The small island was to starboard, and just abaft two funnels discharged almost horizontally just below flight deck level. Soryu was hit by 3 bombs from US dive-bombers in the Battle of Midway, burst into flames, and blew up when the fires reached the aviation fuel tanks."
