Depiction of Japanese aircraft carrier Zuihō (瑞鳳) as of late May – early June 1942

This version is based on the 2014 illustration by Grzegorz Nowak, which I have thoroughly reworked following my own research.

The research behind this reconstruction is a compilation of the work of three Japanese modelers, which I have supplemented with my own observations, resulting in the version presented here.

Links to the research sources:

Full research available on Russian Language here: https://teletype.in/@henryred/zuiho-deck

List of modifications I made to Nowak's graphics:

Added paravane hawseholes at the bow;
Added a forward wind direction indicator, with three arms (though it may have had five). This remains a topic of debate; I based it on Ryūjō photographs;
Added a Hinomaru marking; the white longitudinal lines over it are less prominent due to the underlying red showing through;
The Hinomaru is painted in what I believe to be Dull Red, the same color as the underwater hull; applied in a single coat;
The thickness of the white outline around the Hinomaru was calculated and is exactly 1 meter;
The 25-mm AA director at the stern has been recessed below the flight deck, as seen in photos;
The underwater hull was painted in a darker shade, consistent with Japanese naval practice at the beginning of the war. Before the war, two coats of paint were applied. During the war, however, to conserve time and materials, only a single coat was used, which made the underwater hulls appear lighter. According to my data, a pigment shortage also began during the war, causing the originally dark red hulls to take on a scarlet tone—a change visible in some postwar color footage;
A large dark rectangle was added at the stern—this is a special coating (see research links);
The black transverse stripe at the stern is an anti-skid coating, possibly the same special paint but applied in multiple layers (similar to Kaga, indicated in the Miyuki-Kai plans and visible in all known photos) used in the point of plane's first deck touch during landing;
The "winglets" (flight deck overhangs) are of varying lengths in all known drawings and plans; I recalculated their true dimensions based on photographs and corrected their size and placement;
The winglets in the original drawing lacked red-and-white stripes; these were added based on photographic evidence. I believe the absence is due to the original photo not being correctly identified as Zuihō;
The red-and-white stripes were drawn with the correct number and placement; they are asymmetrical at the stern, and no prior artwork or scale model depicts the accurate stripe count;
The stripe thicknesses were corrected—red and white are not the same width. The correct ratio is 8 units red to 10 units white;
The placement of the central longitudinal white lines on the flight deck was corrected;
I attempted to depict the white tops of the masts, although this is barely visible;
The Hiragana characters づほ at the stern were removed, as they only appeared after the February 1943 refit and not visible on Midway time;
Cranes were added in the top view, located fore and aft of the stern winglets, as they are clearly visible in photos. The starboard crane is shorter than the port one, just like on other carriers, such as Kaga;
The waterline was drawn with a curve, rising by 1/300 of the ship's length at the bow and 1/600 at the stern, in accordance with IJN design practices;
The rudder and shaft fairing were correctly positioned;
The bilge keel was moved aft by about 10% of the ship's length (based on photos from dock);
The bow flight deck wind direction indicator was drawn in its simplified early-wartime form;
The aircraft tie-down rings were removed from the metal edge of the flight deck;
A white rudder position marking was added to the aft pillar, and the pillar itself (with cranes) was positioned according to blueprints;

Nowak's source to compare: