MS-06F Zaku II

The MS-06F Zaku II is one of many variants of the MS-06 Zaku II series of Mobile Suits. The MS-06F was the most produced mobile suit during the One Year War, with 3,246 units built during the war. The MS-06F was piloted by top-scoring Zeon MS aces, as well as by the highest-scoring Zeon ace in the war. It first appears in the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
The C-Type Zaku II had been heavily armored, which had made it heavy and difficult to maneuver. However, further research and development would lead to the creation of a lighter, improved model designated the F-Type Zaku II. The F-Type would quickly become the definitive version of the Zaku II, and all future variants would begin from the F-type as a baseline.

The Principality of Zeon saw great potential within the unit for having it perform in various mission roles. The Zeon Military forces produced successful designs, decent designs, and utter failures from the basic Zaku II design. Vice Admiral Dozle Zabi had his own custom Zaku II, which he took out into the Battle of Loum. His MS-06F Zaku II had ornate engravings and markings, double shoulder spiked armor, and lastly, a gigantic Heat Hawk. Even the youngest Zabi son, Garma Zabi had his own Zaku II, the MS-06Fs Zaku II. This slight variation of the Zaku II designed featured twin 40 mm Vulcan guns. However, he is not known to have used it in battle.

Armaments

 * Shoulder Shield


 * 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 little. The ZMP-50D used a 100-round drum magazine.


 * 280mm Zaku Bazooka
 * The 280mm Zaku Bazooka was another standard weapon that could be equipped to a Zaku type mobile suit. The bazooka fired explosive rounds that were quite effective against the armor of Earth Federation battleships. However the bazooka could only be loaded with a single round at a time, thus it had to be used carefully. The bazooka was front loaded which is difficult to do while a mobile suit is changing vectors. The bazooka could be stored on the rear waist armor while spare ammunition could be stored on the side hip armor.


 * Heat Hawk Type5
 * An axe-shaped close combat weapon, it uses a super-heated blade to cut through the armor of enemy MS or vehicles. The thermal energy is generated by the power output of the Zaku II's thermonuclear reactor and relayed through the MS' hands.


 * MIP-B6 Cracker Grenade
 * Identical to those used by infantry, the cracker grenade is an explosive weapons designed to be thrown or launched by the MS and detonate after a set amount of time. The "cracker" breaks into several smaller munitions over a wide area.


 * 3-tube Missile Pod
 * Mounted on the legs are two 3-tube missile pods. These missiles are quite good weapon against armored enemies. However, they are also slow and therefore unsuitable for combat against nimble targets that can easily avoid them.

History
The Zaku II was eventually replaced by the MS-07B Gouf for ground combat. With the debut of the MS-09 Dom and the MS-09R Rick Dom, the Zaku II was largely regarded as obsolete and the MS-09 became the new frontline mobile suit. Lastly, the MS-14A Gelgoog had all but sealed the Zaku II's fate due its high-performance and ability to use beam weaponry. However, despite the fact that Zeon had developed more powerful mobile suits, they also produced several variations of the Zaku II as the war continued. This is sometimes justified by describing the Zaku as being easier to pilot than other, more powerful mobile suits.

Variants

 * MS-06FS Zaku II (Garma Zabi Custom)
 * MS-06FS Zaku II (Shin Matsunaga Custom)
 * MS-06F Zaku II (Dozle Zabi Custom)
 * MS-06F Zaku II [Stutzer]
 * MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai
 * MS-06F2 Zaku II F2 Type
 * MS-06J Zaku II Ground Type
 * MS-06M Zaku Marine Type
 * MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type

Notes & Trivia

 * A MS-06F Zaku II was used as the basis of the monster "EI-14" in the anime King of Braves GaoGaiGar. Like the Zaku, it was lightly armed and was more of a bother to the series' titular mech. Unsurprisingly, this was allowed due to Sunrise making the series.