Carrier guns should support the carrier role

Is the Tone-class concept preferable to an aircraft carrier carrying cruiser guns?

The carrier-first arrangement is preferable, though its 8-inch guns should still give way to dual-purpose 6-inch weapons.

An aircraft carrier armed to protect itself from cruisers differs from a cruiser asked to double as an aviation ship. The Saratoga arrangement is the more coherent of those two compromises. Even so, its 8-inch guns could be removed. A dual-purpose 6-inch mounting would better support both surface defence and the carrier's anti-aircraft needs.