Why 10-inch guns sit awkwardly between cruiser and capital-ship roles

What is the practical tradeoff between 8-inch and 10-inch cruiser guns?

An 8-inch gun offers faster fire with similar range, while a 10-inch gun carries much of the weight and slow firing of a 12-inch weapon without its range or penetration.

An 8-inch weapon could fire faster at roughly similar range. A 10-inch system carried shell, barrel, and mounting burdens approaching a 12-inch gun while retaining less penetration and no comparable range advantage. That leaves 10 inches on the wrong side of both cruiser and capital-ship requirements. The useful cruiser range was broadly 6 to 9.2 inches, while capital-ship guns began at about 12 inches.