The carrier's flight deck was wide and overhung her hull at both ends, supported by pairs of pillars. A large island, modeled on that fitted on the earlier , was sponsoned off the starboard side and integrated with the ship's funnel. Much like "Taihō", the only other Japanese carrier with an armored flight deck, "Shinano"s flight deck functioned as the ship's strength deck and copied British practice as seen in their carriers. Designed to resist penetration by bombs dropped by a dive bomber, the flight deck consisted of of armor plate laid over of ordinary steel. It was equipped with 15 transverse arrestor wires and three crash barriers that could stop a aircraft; five of these wires were positioned further forward to allow the ship to land aircraft over the bow in case the aft portion of the flight deck was unusable.