Where 7.5-inch cruisers fit

Should 7.5-inch-gunned cruisers be considered heavy or light cruisers?

They belong in the heavy category because their gun lineage helped produce the eight-inch cruiser, though the Royal Navy often found them troublesome.

Their guns helped create the lineage that culminated in the treaty eight-inch heavy cruiser, which puts them in the heavy category. HMS Effingham and related ships nevertheless occupied an awkward intermediate position. The Royal Navy was repeatedly less enthusiastic about retaining them than the classification alone might suggest. The classification rests on armament lineage and service experience rather than treating a treaty label as a complete description.