Editing Flight deck (section)

===Full length===
[[File:HMS Argus (1917).jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Argus|1917|6}} showing the full-length flight deck from bow to stern]]
[[File:시승함인 독도함의 모습과 해상사열을 참관중인 국민 참관단의 모습 (1) (22055340289).jpg|thumb|[[ROKS Dokdo|ROKS ''Dokdo'']]'s full length flight deck]]
The first aircraft carrier that began to show the configuration of the modern vessel was the converted liner {{HMS|Argus|1917|6}}, which had a large flat wooden deck added over the entire length of the hull, giving a combined landing and take-off deck unobstructed by superstructure turbulence. Because of her unobstructed flight deck, ''Argus'' had no fixed [[conning tower]] and no funnel. Rather, exhaust gases were trunked down the side of the ship and ejected under the fantail of the flight deck (which, despite arrangements to disperse the gases, gave an unwelcome "lift" to aircraft immediately prior to landing). 

The lack of a command position and funnel was unsatisfactory, and ''Argus'' was used to experiment with various ideas to remedy the solution. A photograph in 1917 shows her with a canvas mock-up of a starboard "island" superstructure and funnel. This was placed on the starboard side because the [[rotary engine]]s of some early aircraft created [[torque]] which pulled the nose left, meaning an aircraft naturally [[Yaw, pitch, and roll|yawed]] to port on take-off; therefore, it was desirable that they turned away from the fixed superstructure. This became the typical aircraft carrier arrangement and was used in the next [[United Kingdom|British]] carriers, {{HMS|Hermes|95|2}} and {{HMS|Eagle|1918|2}}.

After [[World War I]], [[battlecruiser]]s that otherwise would have been discarded under the [[Washington Naval Treaty]]—such as the British {{HMS|Furious|47|6}} and {{sclass|Courageous|aircraft carrier|4}}, the American {{USS|Lexington|CV-2|6}} and {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|2}}, and the Japanese [[Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi|''Akagi'']] and battleship [[Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga|''Kaga'']]—were converted to carriers along the above lines. Being large and fast they were perfectly suited to this role; the heavy armoring and [[scantling]]s and low speed of the converted battleship ''Eagle'' served to be something of a handicap in practice. 

Because the military effectiveness of aircraft carriers was then unknown, early ships were typically equipped with cruiser-calibre guns to aid in their defense if surprised by enemy warships. These guns were generally removed in [[World War II]] and replaced with [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft gun]]s, as carrier doctrine developed the "task force" (later called "battle group") model, where the carrier's defense against surface ships would be a combination of escorting warships and its own aircraft.

In ships of this configuration, the hangar deck was the strength deck and an integral part of the hull, and the hangar and light steel flight deck were considered to be part of the superstructure. Such ships were still being built into the late 1940s, classic examples being the U.S. Navy's {{sclass|Essex|aircraft carrier|5}} and {{sclass|Ticonderoga|aircraft carrier|0}} carriers. However, in 1936, the [[Royal Navy]] began construction of the {{sclass|Illustrious|aircraft carrier|4}}. 

In these ships, the flight deck was the strength deck, an integral part of the hull, and was heavily armored to protect the ship and her air complement. The flight deck as the strength deck was adopted for later construction. This was necessitated by the ever-increasing size of the ships, from the 13,000&nbsp;[[Tonnage|ton]] {{USS|Langley|CV-1|6}} in 1922 to over 100,000&nbsp;tons in the latest {{sclass|Nimitz|aircraft carrier|0}} and {{sclass|Gerald R. Ford|aircraft carrier|0}} carriers.