Board Thread:Fleet's Prepared-ness/@comment-33667919-20180120001844/@comment-32647310-20180123035926

Make them both CVBs as soon as reasonably possible.

What both Cranes lose in plane-capacity (going from about 90 aircraft to about 75), and slot dispersment (most CVs have 1 large, 2 medium and a small, both Cranes have 3 large-ish), they more than make up for in firepower (the FP stat helps determine shelling damage), durability (max armor) and the advantage of being able to attack at Medium (orange) damage (CV/L do not participate in shelling if they are at Medium damage).

The second Prototype Flight Deck Catapult you will need for Zuikaku is available through a questline.