The 8-inch battery made sense within an American concept of fast reconnaissance forces operating alongside cruisers ahead of the main fleet. Designers expected that a carrier might meet Japanese cruisers before its own escorts were in position. A carrier forced to rely on those guns was already in serious trouble because the enemy could answer with both gunfire and torpedoes. The battery consumed deck space, magazine volume, crew, and maintenance effort, while also revealing limited confidence that aircraft would always be the carrier's decisive defensive weapon.
Notable Point · 38:58-49:07
Why Lexington carried 8-inch guns
Lexington's heavy cruiser guns expose an early carrier doctrine that still expected surface scouting and fighting.