I recall in boot camp they told us the life expectancy of an aircraft carrier in actual battle was 30 minutes.
Note that this WWII carrier had some features that US carriers (such as the Essex class) did not yet have. The IJN Taiho had a hurricane bow and a (partially) armored flight deck. The island was slightly cantilevered off the starboard side. It had greater tonnage than the Essex class as well.
Notice how a Japanese pilot dove into the ocean to cause a US torpedo to prematurely detonate and not hit the ship. But one torpedo did hit, and the lack of adequate damage control training caused the enclosed hangers to become fuel-air bombs. This enormous ship just blew up and sank.
For another interesting tale of a Japanese carrier search for "Shinano", the largest ship sunk in WWII.
