The Leanders are attractive ships, and the criticism here concerns their fit within the light-cruiser category. By the 1930s, the light-cruiser category had absorbed duties formerly divided among first- and second-class protected cruisers and scout cruisers. A design assessed against that combined category can appear weak at either end because it was built for something in between. In this reading, the Leanders make more sense as the equivalent of second-class protected cruisers than as pure scouts or first-class protected cruisers.
Notable Point · 0:09-0:48
Why the Leanders sit awkwardly between cruiser roles
The Leanders occupy the space between scout cruisers and first-class protected cruisers, so broad light-cruiser comparisons make their role look awkward.