In the decisive-battle scheme, cruisers were expected to find the enemy, carry scouting aircraft, screen the fleet, and support the battle line. Carrier aircraft were reserved for the main strike, which pushed much of the search burden onto cruiser floatplanes. A treaty-limited 8-inch cruiser could not comfortably replace the 14,000- to 16,000-ton armoured cruisers that had traditionally helped a battle line. Heavy cruisers were also too few and valuable to make ideal routine screens. These conflicting duties provide the standard for judging the later classes.
Chapter · 40:31-43:04
Cruisers caught between scouting and battle-line support
Japanese heavy cruisers had to serve as reconnaissance platforms, screens, and battle-line auxiliaries, a combination that never fitted one hull cleanly.