 This was the highest mortality percentage of all the Japanese carriers lost at Midway, due largely to the devastation in both hangar decks.The loss of "Sōryū" and the three other IJN carriers at Midway, comprising two-thirds of Japan's total number of fleet carriers and the experienced core of the First Air Fleet, was a crucial strategic defeat and contributed significantly to the ultimate Allied victory.In an effort to conceal the defeat, the ship was not immediately removed from the Navy's registry of ships, awaiting a "suitable opportunity" before finally being struck from the registry on 10 August 1942.