Here is the listing of Star Blazers ships worth mentioning. Actually, we have tried to be as extensive as possible. This list was composed from information contained in Roman Album #53 and #54, and from simply watching the episodes and movies.
Known in Japanese as "Uchuu Senkan Yamato", and strangely mistranslated as "Space Cruiser Yamato", the Argo was the first Earth ship able to travel faster than light. Built from the wreckage of the World War II Japanese battleship, Yamato, the Argo is the pride of the Earth Defense Fleet. Length = 265.8 metres, width = 34.6 metres, height = 77 metres.
Its primary weapons are its main shock cannons and its great Wave
Motion Gun. Also in its battery are a complement of anti-missile missiles,
bow and aft torpedo launch ports, side assault missiles, stack missiles,
Wave Motion cartridge guns, anti-aircraft pulse-laser cannons, anti-missile
screen gun, asteroid polarity shield, reflector force-field, sub-space
"sonar", time radar, and the Black Tiger fighter squadron.
In 2202, for Be Forever Yamato, a white anchor logo was painted on the
Argo's bow and sides. Also, three white stripes were painted on the
ends of its main gun muzzles. For the movie, Final Yamato,
the anchor logos were removed.
The Black Tiger squadron of the Star Force flies the Black Tiger (Cosmo Tiger) plane during the first trip to Iscandar. This plane looks like a cross between a flat-nozed shark and a flying pink eraser. Main weapons are six laser cannons on its wings which can fire in beam or pulse fashion.
The Black Tiger squadron changes to a new plane in 2201. This Astro Fighter (Cosmo Tiger II) looks more like a conventional jet fighter. It's weapons include pulse and beam lasers as well as a maximum of seven missile or torpedos.
There are actually three versions of the Astro Fighter. One is the basic model described above; the second comes equipped with an anti-aircraft turret mounted on top. The third type looks like the second, but carries heavy torpedos instead of missiles.
275 m long, 66 m wide, 98000 tons. Captained by Gideon in TV Season 2, this fast ship is the flagship of the Earth Defense fleet. It is a souped-up version of the Main Battleship, carrying a double-barrel Wave Motion gun. It only has one engine, so it is estimated that the fire power of this gun, when charged in the same amount of time, is the same as that of the Main Battleship. If time is allowed, though, both compression cylinders can deliver a full charge.
L242 W45.8 59400 ton. This is perhaps Earth's most successful battleship design (aside from the Argo). It has three triple-barrel main gun turrets, several missile and torpedo launch tubes, and a large Wave Motion gun.
Length seems to be the same as that of the Main Force Battleship. It's front half seems to be the same as that of the battleship, complete with Wave gun. It is, however, much widened at the aft to accomodate the gravity-based launch deck. Planes must land by flying into ports just above the engine. Perhaps this was not a wise design.
This ship has no wave motion gun, though the other ships of its size do. No size information is available, but it seems to be about the same length as the Cruiser class.
L122 W13.9
This ship is similar in design to the Cruiser, and like it, has a small wave motion gun.
Seen in Be Forever Yamato. Actually, this ship is painted almost black. The first time I saw it, I thought it was on of the Black Nebula Empire's ships. It's the shape a the Battlestar Galactica, with its length about equal to its width.
Has no crew and is controlled by radio from the station on Earth. This ship dimensions are L300m H94m W85m. It has two wave motion gun muzzles which protrude outward from its main body, looking like Desslok's SMITE projectors on his flagship. The fleet of unmanned ships is wiped out by the Black Nebulan Black Fleet in a matter of seconds.
Has no crew and is controlled by radio from the station on Earth. This ship dimensions are L180m H55.4m W43.5m. It has one wave motion gun muzzle which protrudes outward from its main body.
Earth also has two new manned Battleship classes, one new Destroyer, and one new Cruiser according to Perfect Manual #2. But, no stats are given, and we never see these ships in the movie.
The Arizona is a large battleship with a single wave motion gun installed atop its waterline. Of all the ships in Star Blazers, this is the one that most resembles the Argo. The Arizona is not heard of until the Star Force discovers it wrecked on a planet in the Skalagaks Star Cluster... a victim of the Bolar Fleets.
Originally, when Season 3 was in its planning stages, the writers had planned to do much more with the Arizona. Budget cuts chopped the number of production episodes from 52 to 25, and the Arizona's story got cut along with it.
Bismarck is similar to the Arizona, but has a much smaller wave motion gun. It is seen only in dry dock.
Also seen only in dry dock, the Prince of Wales has its wave motion gun mounted on its lower half.
Final Yamato sees a new battleship design. It and the new cruiser both look similar to the Arizona of TV Season 3. The Battleship is shown here.
These ships are painted white and blue, and are in my opinion rather nice-looking. Since Season III, the EDF seems to have taken to making other battleships that resemble the Yamato. The new battship has two triple-barrel shock cannons, bow torpedoes, missile array, and a prominent Wave Motion Gun. It seems that bow designs have borrowed from the Gamilon/Galman style as this new breed of war ships has replaced the familiar open engine nozzles with a more enclosed engine port. This ship is slightly longer than the Yamato.
On the whole, this is a powerful ship. But, it succumbs to the Deingilian hyper-radiation missiles in a matter of minutes.
See notes for New Battleship. Wave Gun muzzle is flatter and broader than in the new battleship. This ship is slightly shorter than the Yamato.
Again apparently without a Wave Motion gun, this ship is armed with a few double-barrel shock cannons. It's main purpose seems to be to provide easy targets for Deingil's hyper-radiation missiles, and to serve as shielding against the missiles for the Argo.
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