Best Middleweight Cruiser

The WNT created an artificial class of cruisers that displaced 10.000 tons and had 8'' main guns. The conflicting requirements set for this ships, coupled with the limit on tonnage, lead to compromises, and comparing them is basically comparing priorities.
In the same period (20s and 30s), some cruisers were built that didn't aim at the limits set by the treaty, but just tried, on a smaller displacement, to be cost efective. These cruisers are a small category in a class of its own, caracterized by displacement in the 6000 to 8500 tons bracket, main guns on the heavy class (no 6'' ships, that fall in the light cruiser category) and a general concern of providing well balanced ships that were not as expensive as the full treaty cruisers.
Since I dont recall seing a specific compative of this sub type, the aim of this tread is to choose the best "middleweight cruiser"
The candidates are:
Representing Japan: Furutaka and Aoba classes, in their modified post rebuilt form;
Representing Italy (built for export to Argentina): Veinticinco de Mayo
Representing the Soviet Union: Kirov Class
Representing Britain: Exeter
So, which would you choose, and why?
 
Furutaka and Aoba classes, Veinticinco de Mayo, Kirov Class, Exeter (and York)
So, which would you choose, and why?
What do you define as "best".....?

I think Exeter, its later than the IJN ships and the heaviest...... (although two out of two might suggest unlucky and thus should go for something else?) It is slowest but then RN numbers are usually applicable to real world unlike some...

In reality (wiki),
Compared to the Counties, the Yorks saved 1,750 tons in net weight, but the reductions in cost of £250,000 and manpower of 50 was something of an uneconomical saving.
I don't actually think they are a good idea, not equal to the large number of 8"/10,000t ships and more expensive than a 6"/6000t that will do just as well with AMC and had just as many radios....
 
8” over guns these smaller ships. 6” was much more appropriate, once director firing comes in then the appropriate size for 8” is 15-18k tons. The sweet spot for survivability/affordability/quantity for cruisers seems to be about 20% of the tonnage of contemporary capital ships.
 
Compared to the Counties, the Yorks saved 1,750 tons in net weight, but the reductions in cost of £250,000 and manpower of 50 was something of an uneconomical saving.
Just as a thought experiment what if,

How much would a FFBNW county cost? If we ignore the extra weight, how much of the £250,000 is the extra turret and two guns not the extra hull?
 
What do you define as "best".....?

I think Exeter, its later than the IJN ships and the heaviest...... (although two out of two might suggest unlucky and thus should go for something else?) It is slowest but then RN numbers are usually applicable to real world unlike some...

In reality (wiki),

I don't actually think they are a good idea, not equal to the large number of 8"/10,000t ships and more expensive than a 6"/6000t that will do just as well with AMC and had just as many radios....
Best for me would be expressed in terms of cost efectiveness.
If money was no problem and the WNT not a limit everybody would build Baltimores.
The Exeter would look better if the option to build one more County with a little less money wasn't there.
The Kirovs are a good example of a "Let's just build the cruiser we need" vs "lets build a treaty cruiser we dont really need" approach. They had 9 hard hiting guns, TTs, and were compact ships.
The problem with the CL aproach is that most 2nd generation treaty Cruisers had an imunity zone that allowed them in theory to engage a 6'' opponent at long range and win with low risk. The realities of the Solomons campaign were IMHO largely responsible for the later 6'' is better current.
Even the light 25 de Mayo had options against, for example, a Zara, that a 6'' CL hadn't.
 
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Best for me would be expressed in terms of cost efectiveness.
Almost certainly Exeter then, simply due to the larger production base of RN and the R&D/tooling being already paid for by the large Counties build....?
 
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