Cliff built a 1/144 British M-1 submarine for R/C Combat and fought the boat with limited success. The submarine was sold and is non-operation now and sits on some else's mantle over their fireplace.
The submarine had a fiberglass lower hull and a balsa top. The sub used Freon (now illegal) to power it's single 7/32" (12") gun and provide low pressure gas for the ballast system. The boat was configured as a negatively ballasted boat and it would remain on the bottom of the pond if it ran out of Freon. Cliff went swimming several times to retrieve this submarine.
The gun used a modified Swiss clock mechanism and featured a rotating sealed breech allowing it to fire above and below the waters surface. Ball bearings were pushed into the breech by a coil spring.
A modified servo motor provided propulsion to two shafts through gears. One battery pack was used to power the receiver, servos and the propulsion motor.
All in all this sub was a technical marvel and is proof of Cliff's skill as a modeler. It should be noted that even Cliff could not fit everything into a scale hull. The lower fiberglass portion of the hull was much wider than scale and the boat was about 3/4" too deep.
Eventually Cliff retired this submarine and built a 1/72nd scale version which was much more successful. Cliff's current primary combat boat is a 1/72nd scale U.S.S. Gridley destroyer.
I asked
Cliff about the possibility of building another M-1 (using today's
modern technology) and his advice was that although an interesting
novelty, the submarine was not effective in our game. His advice
was that you're better off spending the same amount (or less) to
build a battleship, which we all know is very effective in our
hobby.
Many years ago a couple of guys in the San Jose California area built two I-400 Japanese submarines. These were the largest submarines ever built until the Polaris Missile subs of the 1960's!!!
These submarines were built as dynamic divers and required forward motion to remain submerged. If they stopped or went dead in the water they would float to the surface. The subs were equipped with one or two single shot non-reloading torpedo tubes and had to physically ram a ship before firing in order to achieve a decisive underwater hit.
According
to the rules these subs could travel at a speed of 22 knots. They
had great difficulty gaining a firing position on a combat ship.
They were marginally effective against convoy ships if they could
get a shot.
1. We have constant "air cover" over the game. Everybody can see the subs periscope and can easily avoid it. If the sub driver fully submerges his boat in order to hide, he also becomes blind to his ships "true" position. Usually the best anti-submarine weapon is a 10 year old child, they will follow the subs periscope with their eyes all day long and warn their (dad's) side of the subs position. Just as eyes of air cover defeated the U-boats in the Atlantic, a 10 year olds eyes defeats submarines in R/C Combat.
2. Subs are sunk by ramming their antennas or their hulls. A sub must be ballasted precisely. Any increase in the subs weight and it will sink straight to the bottom and any decrease and it won't want to stay submerged. When a properly ballasted submarine fires it's torpedoes it loses weight! This makes it very difficult to stay submerged even under full power. Normally a sub will "porpoise", surfacing and then diving, struggling to stay underwater. This "porpoising" makes it very easy for a destroyer or other fast ship to score a "sink" against a submarine by ramming. The difference between a submarine being able to surface and sinking helplessly to the bottom can be the weight of a BB!!!
3. Most of the potential targets are much faster than the submarine. Real submarines depend on stealth to achieve a kill. Because we have constant "air cover" surprise is lost.
4. Since the submarine must fire it's torpedoes it loses weight and becomes very difficult to control. Compensating for this change in weight can be done, however it is very, very difficult in our scale. Wood can not be used in the construction of submarines since it changes density and is subject to compressibility. Fiberglass is the only suitable material for submarine construction.
5. Cost. A submarine is a HUGE project in a very SMALL package. The cost will run more than most battleships and result in a novel boat which is less effective than a destroyer in combat.
If you really want a submarine for R/C Combat, my suggestion is that you first join the SUBCOMMITTEE and then buy and build some of the excellent 1/96 to 1/32nd scale kits that are on the market FIRST. After a few years experience and a lot money later go ahead and try a R/C submarine built for combat. Just remember the fun is in the project itself not in the final performance or combat effectiveness.
I'd be
interested in hearing comments from people with experience with
R/C Combat Submarines.