Why eight-inch guns were a poor carrier trade

Why were Lexington and Saratoga given 8-inch guns, and what could replace them?

The guns conserved perceived cruiser firepower, but separate cruisers were the better answer; removing the turrets would improve stability and free space for aircraft, stores, and 5-inch guns.

The Washington treaty did not cap total cruiser tonnage, so the United States could build escorting cruisers instead of placing 8-inch guns on a carrier. The turrets sat about twice normal cruiser height and off to one side near the island, creating difficult topweight and firing-load problems. Removing them would release weight and volume for aircraft, aviation stores, handling spaces, and a more suitable 5-inch defensive battery. Under the later London limits, conserving cruiser numbers gives the heavy guns a more understandable bureaucratic logic, but they still interfere with the carrier's primary aviation role. Treaty accounting could therefore encourage a design feature that remained operationally inefficient.