The loss of four Japanese aircraft carriers during the Battle of Midway in June severely limited the ability of the IJN to conduct operations and alternatives were sought. Plans for full conversions of battleships into aircraft carriers were rejected on the grounds of expense and, most critically, time, so the IJN settled on removing the rear pair of turrets from the "Ise"-class ships and replacing them with a flight deck equipped with two rotating catapults. Matsuda was relieved by Captain Sueo Obayashi on 10 December and he was relieved in turn on 1May 1943, the same day that the conversion officially began. Work actually began two months later. The ship's No.6 turret and the barbettes for No.5 and6 turrets were replaced by a hangar surmounted by a flight deck. This was not long enough to permit the launch of aircraft or their recovery. Two catapults were installed and the existing crane was moved to the flight deck. This was fitted with an extensive system of rails to link each catapult, the storage positions on the deck and the "T"-shaped aircraft lift that moved aircraft between the flight deck and the hangar. It had a capacity of nine aircraft, with eleven more stowed on deck, and one on each catapult for a total of twenty-two. The ship's air group was intended to consist of a dozen each Yokosuka D4Y "Suisei" dive bombers (Allied reporting name "Judy"), modified for catapult launching, and Aichi E16A reconnaissance floatplanes (Allied reporting name "Paul"), of which two to three of each were reserves. The former had to land either on a conventional carrier or on land bases, whereas the E16A could be hoisted back aboard using a crane, after landing on the water near the ship.