Space Battleship Yamato: Why the shape of a naval ship in space with no up or down? Disguise aside, the reason makes sense
by Masaki Ando (See the original article here)
Yamato in the anime Space Battleship Yamato has the same shape as a so-called “surface ship,” even though it travels through space with no relation to up or down. What is the significance of this? Let’s put aside the story of the disguise at the time of construction and consider it.
Considering the purpose of Yamato, is it “yes”?
In the year 2199, the interstellar nation “Gamilas Empire” attacks from outer space, placing Earth on the verge of extinction. The interstellar space battleship Yamato is built and equipped with “Wave-Motion Engine” technology provided by the planet Iscandar. Yamato launches for Iscandar in the Large Magellanic Nebula to receive the Cosmo Cleaner, a radioactivity removal device.
This is the story of the anime Space Battleship Yamato. In the original, which began airing in 1974, Yamato was built using the wreckage of the former Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamato, which was discovered on the dried-up seabed. Thus, it has a ship-like shape similar to the Yamato-class battleship.
On the other hand, in the remake version Yamato2199 and later, for which new anime is still being made, it is said that the ship is disguised as the wreck of Battleship Yamato to deceive the enemy. Although the size of the ship is different (the original is 265.8m in length, while the remake is 333m), both have the appearance of a “ship.” If it were a spaceship, it would not need to be in the shape of a surface ship. Why is this?
The following discussion is based on the remake version, which has a large amount of concepts.
The remake series is currently being written by Harutoshi Fukui. According to the film Age of Yamato, the battleship Yamato was raised and repaired in 2141 A.D. After it was unveiled on the “200th anniversary of the end of World War II,” it was sunk to the bottom of the sea again, rendering it in its original state at the beginning of the story. This seems to be the idea.
As mentioned above, it seems strange that a space battleship (which is a spaceship), has the form of a so-called “surface ship.” Since there is no up or down in space, there is no need to pack guns and firearms into the top of the hull, as in a normal surface ship. It should be possible to place them on the sides or bottom of the ship. (Of course, there may be merit/demerit in centralized or dispersed placement, but we will leave that aside for now.)
The Kirishima, Murasame, and Yukikaze, which were built at the same time in the remake, have turrets and other armament on the bottom of their hulls. However, Yamato is also equipped with eight missile tubes on its bottom, and the launch hatch for onboard aircraft can also be considered “armament.” However, the bias of the armament seems more pronounced compared to those other ships.
Is there any merit in the shape of the surface ship?
“Yamato” was originally not a “combat ship”…?
The premise is that Yamato didn’t start out as a “combat ship.” It was part of the “Izumo Plan,” which was to “send a limited number of humans out into space to search for a viable planet.” thus, Yamato is a spacecraft designed to investigate a viable planet. It was to search for a planet where humans can survive, and was therefore expected to operate in the atmosphere of a planet to be investigated.
In this case, a long period of exploration would be required. If the spacecraft had to fly continuously in an atmosphere, it would not be possible to maintain its engines. The water displacement of the remake version is unknown (62,000 tons in the previous version). If you think of it as a “ship,” Yamato seems to have a weight of 100,000 tons, and if it can float on water, it would be easy to stay for a long period of time on a planet with water.
Also, if the ship is filled with armaments, the space for living quarters will be reduced by that much. This could hinder the original purpose of the Izumo Project, which is to “settle on a planet where a limited number of humans can survive.” On the other hand, a surface ship type has a higher storage capacity inside the ship. The flat bottom would also provide stability and convenience if the ship were to set down on land in an emergency.
In fact, Yamato was launched from the floating continent of Jupiter with a cloud of dust rising from under the ship. (The third bridge on the bottom of the ship was also intact. Amazing!) Concentrating the heat resistance on the bottom of the ship would be advantageous during atmospheric entry as well.
But what about during combat? Yamato takes command of combat operations, including visual inspection, so the ability to visually check the on-board firearms at a glance would be a merit.
Also, if the ship is symmetrical, it is difficult to tell which side is “up.” In the event of an emergency, there may be confusion as to what the personnel should do. If top and bottom were clearly defined as on Yamato, confusion among the crew could be avoided.
Some may point out that the bottom of the ship is a weak point. However, the only armament on the bottom is missiles, so it can be that much more heavily armored. (Yamato is heavily defended to begin with, since it also has “Wave-Motion Barrier.”) In fact, the only notable cases of damage to the bottom were during the Battle of the Rainbow Cluster and attacks by dimensional submarines.
The ship also has on-board aircraft, so it is possible to intercept an enemy’s attempt to attack from below. If you want, you can simply rotate the ship itself, as in the battle at “Karel 163” depicted in 2199 Episode 15.
Of course, in order to take off and land carrier-based aircraft, the fewer structures that get in the way, the better. Rather than launching from the top of the ship, where most of the armament is concentrated, it is better to launch from the sides or bottom.
Therefore, with the scientific and technological capabilities of Yamato, which has solved the problems of onboard gravity and other issues, a ship-shaped space battleship would be a possibility.