We Breakdown The Space Battleship Yamato: The Ship That Really Puts the ‘Ship’ in Space Ship
The Space Battleship Yamato saved the Earth and the human race, all while looking like it was ready to set out on the open sea.
Of all the ships in the Earth Defense Force fleet, none was more important than the Space Battleship Yamato. It singlehandedly saved both the planet and the human race, on many occasions. It possessed a powerful energy drive and a main gun that could destroy whole continents or more if used irresponsibly.
And yet for all that advanced technology, the ship wouldn’t be here without the rusted-out, sunken ruins of the World War II-era Battleship, the Yamato. It all starts in the late 21st century, when, in the midst of an interstellar war, a message comes to Earth from the Iskander detailing a new type of technology: Wave Motion Energy.
Space Battleship Yamato Design and Capabilities
The Space Battleship Yamato was constructed in secret. After Earth was targeted by an alien empire known as the Gamilon Empire. The recovered remains of the Yamato served to hide the Wave Motion Energy research from the orbiting ships of the Gamilons.
Incorporating the old battleship design necessitated several concessions to where weapons could be placed. But, it did come with certain advantages as well. For instance, the Space Battleship Yamato had three bridges. Bridge 1 contained helm, radar, communications, and command positions. Bridge 2 was the main navigation center of the ship. And Bridge 3 was destroyed in a surprising number of encounters with the enemy.
The ship also contained luxuries such as a holoprojection of earth (for combatting homesickness), several conference rooms, even a gym.
But all of that paled in comparison to the advanced technology available to the ship. The Yamato was the first Earth ship built with Wave Motion Technology in mind. The Yamato’s main power source was the Wave Motion Engine, which could convert the vacuum of space into tachyons, which could then be harvested for energy. Supporting this was a pair of auxiliary engines, which could help jumpstart the Wave Motion Core of the Wave Motion Engine.
The Wave Motion Core also powered the ship’s weaponry. The original battleship gun turrets were converted into powerful energy guns known as Shock Cannons, which could fire separately or in concert. In addition to the energy blasts, they could be loaded with missiles or other rounds.
The original anti-aircraft guns of the Yamato were converted into Pulse Lasers, a set of multi-barrelled gun turrets which could provide defensive anti-fighter or anti-missile fire. As well as six torpedo tubes, several missile launchers, and a fleet of fighter planes.
Wave Motion Gun
Though the most destructive engine in the Space Battleship Yamato’s arsenal was, by far, the Wave Motion Gun. This deadly weapon ran the length of the entire ship. Connecting the firing gate at the ship’s bow to the Wave Motion Energy.
When fully charged, this weapon was capable of vaporizing a fleet of enemy ships, or a sizable landmass with even a single shot. Though the weapon was not without its costs. It required all non-essential power systems aboard the Yamato be deactivated, and left the ship without power for a brief window after firing.
Space Battleship Yamato – A History
When the Gamilon Empire laid siege to Earth, the result was devastating. Their advanced spaceships were more than a match for Earth’s meager forces at the time. And, bombarding the planet with radioactive asteroids, the Gamilons rendered the surface of the Earth uninhabitable.
The Yamato was the last-ditch effort to save humanity. And it was only made possible thanks to a messenger arriving from the planet Iscandar. This messenger contained the plans for the Wve Motion Engine and coordinates/plans for a meeting with the Iscandarans to obtain a device that might make the Earth inhabitable once more.
In 2199, the Yamato project was approved. Over the next three years, the Yamato becomes the Space Battleship Yamato. And as the people of Earth research the Wave Motion Technology, they also weaponize it, creating the Wave Motion Gun to the surprise and dismay of many in the galactic community.
When construction was complete, a crew of 114 departed Earth aboard the Yamato to meet up with the people of Iscandar, and restore the atmosphere of Earth.
And eventually, they do, but that is a story for another time.
