MS-09B Dom

The MS-09B Dom is a mass-production ground combat mobile suit which first appears in Mobile Suit Gundam. It is most well known to be piloted by the Black Tri-Stars, along with the pilots Abraham and Rayburn.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
The MS-09B Dom was the successor to MS-06F Zaku II and MS-07B Gouf mobile suits, and far surpassed both in terms of performance. Developed as a heavy-type, high performance mobile suit, the Dom could outmaneuver the Federation's new mass production mobile suit, the RGM-79 GM. While the Dom can use many of the Zaku II and Gouf standard armaments, it was typically equipped with a new 360mm Giant Bazooka, which could easily blow apart a mobile suit. Later, a new 880mm Raketen Bazooka was also developed that could destroy almost anything with one hit. The Dom also had a new Heat Saber, shaped very much like a beam saber, that was used for close combat. Lastly, the Dom featured a scattering beam gun, too weak to damage mobile suits, but powerful enough to blind a pilot for a few seconds.

The Dom's main advantages were its speed, agility, and maneuverability. The Dom had massive legs and a "skirt," under which were several high-powered thermonuclear jet engines that allowed the Dom to hover over the ground. These gave it a 240 kilometer per hour hovering speed, which far surpassed the Gouf's running speed of only 99 kilometers per hour. The Dom's superiority was blatantly evident to the Zeon forces and the Dom went quickly into mass production.

Armaments

 * Scattering Beam Gun
 * The scattering beam gun was a beam weapon mounted on the left side of the Dom's chest. As an offensive weapon the scattering beam gun was incapable of damaging enemy mobile weapons. The likely reason was that the scattering beam gun has a very cheap and small focusing coil, even more so than the beam spray gun used by the RGM-79 GM, which caused the beam's mega-particles to lose all cohesion. Though it could not inflict any real damage, it produced a bright flash which was capable of blinding human eyes and visual sensors momentarily.


 * H&L-GB03K/360mm Giant Bazooka
 * For the Dom's 'hit hard and hit fast' attack philosophy, it was armed with 360mm giant bazooka as its main weapon. The bazooka is magazine-fed and holds 10 rounds per magazine, and is capable of destroying mobile suits in a single hit. It can also inflict heavy damage to warships.


 * 880mmRB-T27 Raketen Bazooka
 * A new heavy bazooka which features powerful rocket-propelled rounds, and improved targeting sensor with protective cover for aiming. The bazooka is clip-fed and can hold 5 rounds per clip. Spare clips can be stored on optional storage racks.


 * MMP-80/90mm Ver.8 Machine Gun
 * As part of the United Maintenance Plan new weapons were produced that could be used by various Zeon mobile suits such as the MMP-80 90mm machine gun, which was the upgraded version of the MMP-78 120mm Machine Gun. It used 90mm bullets instead of 120mm type, allowing for a greater speed of firing and a higher rate of penetration. The machine gun is magazine-fed with 32 rounds per magazine. Extra magazines could be stored on the Dom's waist armor.


 * ZMP-50D 120mm Machine Gun
 * The 120mm machine gun is a standard weapon for Zaku type mobile suits. It is a shell firing gun that does not require energy to be used, however its effectiveness against heavy armor is very limited. It holds 100 rounds per drum with spare drums that can be stored on waist armor racks.


 * H&L-SB25K/280mmA-P Zaku Bazooka
 * A bazooka originally designed for use by the Zaku type mobile suits. The bazooka fired explosive rounds that were quite effective against the armor of Earth Federation mobile suits and battleships.


 * Heat Saber Type2
 * The Type2 heat saber is a new model of heat weaponry designed for and used by the Dom. Stored on the backpack when not in use, this weapon bears a strong resemblance to the beam sabers used by Earth Federation mobile suits, however it still relies on the older technology of using thermal energy to superheat a metal blade, allowing it to melt through the armor of an enemy machine at high speed.


 * Heat Hawk
 * An axe-like melee weapon originally designed for use by the Zaku line of mobile suits, whose name is short for "tomahawk". Thermal energy generated by MS's thermonuclear reactor is used to superheat the heat hawk's blade, allowing it to slice through the armor of enemy warships, mobile suits and vehicles. The thermal energy is relayed to the weapon through the MS' manipulators.


 * Sturm Faust
 * An explosive weapon with a rocket propelled warhead, it was designed before the beginning of the One Year War as an anti-ship weapon. Useful both in space and under gravity, it was mainly deployed for anti-ship attacks during the early days of the war. The Sturm Faust likely made a good anti-mobile suit weapon during the latter days of the war, as Zeon mobile suits could be equipped with both a Sturm Faust and a more typical ranged weapon for greater versatility. As a unguided weapon, it is difficult to hit targets with high mobility. Spare units of Sturm Fausts could be stored on Dom's waist armor storage racks.


 * Knuckle Shield
 * The knuckle shield is a modified Zaku II shoulder shield that mounts on the left arm. When mounted on the forearm the curve of the armor fits over the mobile suits hand. One of the modifications is the additions of three spikes placed on the plate that rests in front of the hand. These spikes make the knuckle shield an effective bashing weapon.


 * Mace
 * The mace is a blunt weapon used for melee combat, a type of club that uses a heavy head on the end of a handle to deliver powerful blows.

History
A few months into the One Year War, the Zeon realized that their revolutionary MS-06 Zaku II mobile suits, which had proved a formidable force in space, were severely handicapped under the full gravity conditions on Earth. Mobile suits were just too large and slow moving under Earth's gravity, which made the massive machines into easy targets. To remedy this situation Zeon's Zimmad Company began to produce a new model mobile suit that had a higher ground speed. Using the data from the MS-07C-5 Gouf Test Prototype the Zimmad Company engineers created the MS-09 Dom.

The first three Dom units shipped out were assigned to the Black Tri-Stars, who had been sent to aid Captain M'Quve's Odessa mining base. However, all three units were destroyed by RX-78-2 Gundam's pilot Amuro Ray after only two battles. Prior to this, Ramba Ral attempted to obtain some of the Doms to aid in the capture of the Gundam. However, M'Quve refused to follow orders to send the Doms, leaving Ramba Ral to his fate.

Production of the Dom continued for only a short period as after Operation Odessa the war on Earth tipped in the Earth Federation's favor, forcing the Zeon forces into systematic retreat. Only a handful of MS-09 Doms would appear during the following battles on Earth, usually piloted by highly skilled pilots. Despite being unable to produce the Dom in enough numbers to turn the war on Earth back in their favor, the Principality of Zeon adapted the mobile suit's frame for space combat. This new mobile suit was the MS-09R Rick Dom and replaced the MS-06F Zaku II as Zeon's primary space-use mass production combat mobile suit during the last month of the war until the final two weeks when production of the MS-14A Gelgoog began in earnest.

Variants

 * MS-07C-5 Gouf Test Prototype
 * YMS-09 Prototype Dom
 * YMS-09D Dom Tropical Test Type
 * MS-09K-1 Dom Cannon
 * MS-09K-2 (MS-09KM) Dom Cannon
 * YMS-09J Dom High Speed Experimental Type
 * MS-09 Dom Cold Climate Type
 * MS-09C Dom Mid-Range Fire Support Type
 * MS-09F Dom Funf
 * MS-09F/Bn Dom Bein Nichts
 * MS-09F/Br Dom Barrage
 * MS-09F/Gb Dom Gross Beil
 * MS-09F/trop Dom Tropen
 * MS-09F-2 Dom Blizzard
 * MS-09G Dwadge
 * MS-09H Dwadge Reformation
 * MS-09K Dwadge
 * MS-09R Rick Dom
 * MS-09R-2 Rick Dom II
 * MS-09R Rick Dom [Stutzer]
 * MS-09RS Rick Dom C.A. Custom
 * MS-09R4 (MS-09RN) MS-09S Psycommu Rick Dom "Schnee Weiss"
 * MS-09RN-2 Tusche Schwarz
 * MS-09S Dowas
 * MS-09F Dowas Desert
 * MS-10 Pezun Dowadge
 * OMS-09DRF RF Desert Dom
 * OMS-09RF RF Dom
 * OMS-09SRF RF Snow Dom
 * YMS-09R-2 Prototype Rick-Dom Zwei
 * Rick Dom Beam Bazooka Test Type
 * Jupiter Ghost

Notes and Trivia

 * The Dom's model number has been commonly known as MS-09 since the First Gundam TV series was aired in 1979. The "B"-suffix was officially established in 1986, as shown in the mechanic section of 1/144 MS-09G Dwadge's modelling manual.
 * The ZGMF-XX09T DOM Trooper from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny is based upon the Dom.
 * A Dom appears in the Capcom fighting game, Star Gladiator as an unused, scrapped character and in an unpolished state. Though it is not referred to by name, its name in the Vs screen is Blodia, the name of the protagonist's mech from another fighting game, Cyberbots.