Why treaty labels did not make a convincing heavy cruiser

Eight-inch guns and treaty displacement placed the class in the heavy-cruiser category, but that label said little about combat strength. A two-inch belt left the ships vulnerable to weapons carried by much lighter opponents. Their more immediate wartime weakness was an inability to hit consistently, part of a wider fire-control problem on both sides of the Civil War. Split crews and political infighting are suggested as likely contributors. Equipment was also poorly maintained, poorly installed, or selected for political reasons despite its shortcomings. Imperial Russia's purchase of German equipment despite regarding Germany as its principal potential enemy supplies a comparison for that political influence on procurement. Effective gunnery depended on workable equipment and the people and institutions responsible for it.