In the realm of odd things to want to own, a huge remote control version of what is likely the most ill-fated battleship in the history of humankind is pretty close to the top. Like a remote control version of the Hindenburg, this ship doesn’t really bring fuzzy feelings of wartime glory and victory. Nope, the Yamato was as big a disaster as there ever has been in the history of war.
On the positive side, the Yamato was the largest and most well armed battleship in the history of humankind. This thing was bristling with guns in every possible direction. It was able to rip through the ocean at ridiculous speed for its size and it had every bit of the most advanced technology available with respect to armor, radar, and other systems. This was one bad ass boat. Unfortunately there was a critical flaw with the whole program and it wasn’t really the Yamato’s fault. The problem? Japan was basically out of oil and could literally not afford to sail the ship and go on the offense in any sort of meaningful way.
Here’s where the reasoning for owning this thing gets weird. On April 6th 1945 the Yamato set sail on a literal suicide mission. The ship was loaded to the hilt with as much ammo as it could carry and it was sailing with nine other vessels toward Okinawa as part of Operation Ten-Go. The plan? Try to stop the allies from amassing forces at the island and stave off an invasion of Japan. The ship was given basically enough fuel to get to Okinawa. This was a trip that literally had no return plan. The Yamato was to steam basically full steam into the island (literally) and become a fort/gun emplacement. The orders were to fight until the ship was totally destroyed. Again, why does someone want a remote control model of this thing again?
If all of that wasn’t bad enough, the Yamato never got to Okinawa. The allies had intercepted the entire plan for Operation Ten-Go and less than 24 hours after the group of Japanese ships had set sail, the skies above them darkened with allied airplanes. The Japanese were basically swallowed whole by wave after wave of attacks from the air. Bombs, torpedos, strafing fire, and hell from all directions confronted the ship and despite all the armaments and protections, the destruction came swiftly. In less than two hours the ship rolled over, and started to head for the bottom, sucking most of the few remaining sailors with her. The sinking didn’t get too far long when two of the massive bow magazines exploded and triggered a hellacious blast that launched a mushroom cloud nearly four miles into the air that was seen 99-miles away. More than 3,000 of the 3,300 crew died in the calamity.
So yeah, when a little kid asks you the story of your boat as you drive it around the pond, go ahead and fill him in on that.
Click the link at the bottom of the page to see more of this huge RC Yamato ship
So all you need is a scale model Okinawa to steer this beauty into and also a full RC American attack force. As well as a very healthy bank account…..
I have that model! It’s as-yet uncompleted, but I should resume working on it. That’s one of the most detailed models I’ve ever seen, nearly four feet long and factory-built for conversion to remote control.
Like the Titanic, the tragic history is exactly what makes it famous, or infamous. It’s a impressive model, there is no cyber store to order parts from or customer support hot line to call…
Ask anyone who was involved, no fuzzy feelings of victory exist. They would take issue with there being anything glorious about war.
I looked through their other auctions, and I see they have a whole collection of ill-fated ships – PT109, the Sharnhorst, and the HMS Hood. No Tripitz or Arizona, though.
I am a HUGE battleship freak so I had to chime in on this one.
Let me correct your history a bit. The Yamato was the most heavily armed (18.1 inch main guns 3200 lb projectile vice 16 inch 2700 lbs projectile on Iowa class Battleships) firing 26 miles vs 24 miles on Iowa class.
Fire Control: having big guns is great unless you cannot put them on target. Iowa had superior radars and fire control systems giving the Iowa the edge.
Speed: Yamato was more heavily armored that Iowa (16″ belt armor 26″ turret armor vice 12″ belt and 20″ turret) and that translates to speed. Yamato wide open did 27 knots (31.05 mph) while the Iowa top speed was 33 knots (37.95 mph).
Faster to close the distance with superior fire control systems leads to a win in a contest between the two. That each would be beat to heck as a result of a fight would be an understatement but the Iowa class battleships (Iowa, Missouri, New Jersey, and Wisconsin) were the top in battleship design as evidence by their service in 4 wars (WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm).