Model warship combat

IRCWCC hosts a yearly week-long national event, called "Nats", where the fleets, divided up by historical alliances, (Allied and Axis), wage war against each other.

Radio controlled warship combat was invented by a small group of men living in Texas (USA) in the late 1970s.

These men "toyed" with the idea of using radio controlled ships and equipping them with some kind of cannon so that they could then engage in combat, eventually developing the sport.

After some time and further improvements, the group was able to "sink" an opponent in combat by shooting steel balls through balsa wood hulls.

The exit velocity of the BBs was high enough to punch holes in the model ship’s 1/32 inch balsa wood skin.

This enabled the magazine to exit the deck vertically, with the BBs running into the base leg of the elbow before entering the restrictor.

Extensive design conventions exist to provide that the fighting effectiveness under various conditions remain proportional to the prototype vessels.

While many models use a combination of switches and/or relays physically actuated by servos to control the propulsion system, most newer models now use either Electronic Speed Control units or solid-state switching boards, such as those found in Robot combat, greatly reducing the complexity of the wiring of the propulsion system.

Propulsion is provided by electric motors coupled to shafts passing through stuffing tubes driving semi-scale propellers.

In Big Gun combat, club rules usually include provisions for the arming of torpedoes, usually represented by a fixed cannon firing 0.25" diameter projectiles.

The majority of hulls are constructed from either fiberglass (with penetration windows cut into it), or scratch built with wood ribs.

The exteriors of the ship's hulls are sheeted balsa wood, which allows the relatively low velocity cannon projectiles to penetrate them.

Smaller vessels such as light cruisers and destroyers often incorporate a less-durable but lighter superstructure in order to maximize the displacement available for weapons systems.

One of the most common combat format across the different model warship clubs, team free-for-all involves the division of players present into two teams that are equal based upon a combat strength rubric (i.e. units in Fast Gun or a combination of displacement tonnage and cannon count in Big Gun), which then sortie against each other in accordance with the club's rules and scoring system.

Big Gun Model Warships allow weapons to be installed in rotating turrets as if they were mounted on the historical vessel.

[6][18][19] Big Gun clubs are largely descended from the now defunct "North American Warship Combat Association" (NASWCA) dating back to late 1981/early 1982.