One reason for the discrepancy in numbers was (in sharp contrast to the United States) the Imperial Japanese Navy's lack of insistence that its carrier planes have the smallest possible folded wingspan (many designs' folded only near the tips, while the wings of the Yokosuka D4Y Suisei dive-bomber did not fold at all).
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Taihō was then moved to Lingga Roads, a naval anchorage off Sumatra, where she joined veteran carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku in the First Carrier Division, First Mobile Force.
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When American carrier strikes against the Marianas indicated an invasion of Saipan was imminent, the Japanese Combined Fleet staff initiated Operation A-GO on 11 June.
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Possessing heavy belt armor and featuring an armored flight deck (a first for any Japanese carrier), she represented a major departure in Japanese carrier design and was expected to not only survive multiple bomb, torpedo or shell hits but also continue fighting effectively.
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Built by Kawasaki at Kobe, she was laid down on 10 July 1941, launched almost two years later on 7 April 1943 and finally commissioned on 7 March 1944.
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