A carrier making roughly 34 knots, supported by scouting aircraft and escorts, presented a difficult surface target. The comparison, offered from memory, puts earlier Japanese heavy cruisers around 33 knots, the Myoko class at about 35.5 knots, and the Mogami class at 37 knots. Their speed advantage still had to be converted into closing distance while the carrier launched strikes and tracked them. The eight-inch guns mattered only after aircraft, cruisers, destroyers, and reconnaissance had all failed. Firing them would then interrupt the aviation activity best able to find and impede the pursuer.
Notable Point · 20:04-23:02
Reconnaissance and escorts were the real defence
Aircraft reconnaissance, speed, and escorts offered a more coherent defence than asking a carrier to duel cruisers.