Dick actually covered that
here:
Dick J wrote:
All of the short hull kits should have the full length flightdeck. However, there is something else you would need to watch out for. As commissioned, the earliest Essex's had only 8 quad 40MM mounts. As a result, the two in the port-side sponsons (with the 5" single guns) were slightly higher than the adjacent 5" guns. This required the flightdeck to be notched so the mounts could rotate freely. This also allowed those 40MM to fire "cross-deck". As the number of 40MM mounts increased, the need for cross-deck firing diminished, so the mounts were lowered to the same level as the 5" guns, and the notches eliminated. (Making the air department happier.) Boxer completed with the lower mounts and the un-notched flightdeck. So any kit you chose for the donner deck would need to be one of the late-war ones without the notches. Not working in 1/350 myself, I can't say exactly which kits have the required features.
Hancock's forward gallery in 1946 clearly shows the notch was planked over but the mount was not lowered. I have to believe that the notch in the vertical support under the deck edge is to allow some clearance for the mount.
Attachment:
CV-19 1946 Mothballs.jpg [ 80.36 KiB | Viewed 9485 times ]
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