MS-06 Zaku II

The MS-06 Zaku II (ザク II) is a line of mobile suits from the Universal Century timeline. It was developed from the earlier MS-05 Zaku I line, and appears in Mobile Suit Gundam.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
The successor to the first fielded mobile suit, the MS-05 Zaku I, the Zaku II improved on everything the previous model offered. It was faster, far more durable, had a better Minovsky Reactor, and could be fitted with far more weapons. The Zaku II was the mainstay of the Zeon military for most of the One Year War. Even after the MS-09B Dom and MS-09R Rick Dom began to replace it on the front lines, the Zaku still remained the most numerous mobile suit in Zeon's armed forces. As such, the Zaku II formed the backbone of the U.C. 0083 rebels of Operation Stardust and some were even seen as late as U.C. 0088 in both AEUG and Neo Zeon service during the Gryps Conflict and the First Neo Zeon War. The Zaku II was also a common aggressor unit used during training for Earth Federation Forces pilots.

Armaments

 * 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. The ZMP-50D used a 100-round drum magazine. "ZMP" stands for "Zaku Machine Pistol".


 * M-120A1 120mm Machine Gun
 * Also referred to as a "rifle" by Zeon soldiers, Zeonic was contracted to develop this weapon. Its internal development code is "ZMC38III". It can switch modes between single-fire and automatic fire. Its low penetration power became evident with the appearance of Federation MS.


 * MMP-78 Machine Gun
 * A new model machine gun with enhanced firepower to combat Federation Forces MS. Early type and late type models exist, with differences in the location and mounting of the grip on the latter. In addition to the regular machine gun bullets fed from the drum magazine, the MMP-78 is also capable of firing anti-aircraft rounds being fed from a smaller, box-type magazine. The MMP-78 is also integrated with a grenade launcher under its barrel for additional firepower. "MMP" is an abbreviation for "Mobile Suit Machine Pistol".


 * MMP-80 90mm Machine Gun
 * An alternative to the MMP-78, it is an upgrade of the above weapon. 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 mag. The MMP-80 was also integrated with a grenade launcher under its barrel for more firepower.


 * H&L-SB25K/280mmA-P 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 mobile suits and 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.


 * ZIM/M.T-K175C 175mm Recoilless Rifle
 * The main gun of the HT-01B Magella Attack main battle tank, it is remodeled as an MS artillery weapon. The Top Cannon was mainly used for long distance ground combat and can be loaded with high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) or armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot (APFSDS) rounds.


 * 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. The Zaku II can optionally equip up to four cracker grenades, that are stored on the left and right waist armor racks, with two on each side.


 * 3-tube Missile Pod
 * Mounted on the legs are two 3-tube missile pods. These missiles are quite effective against armored enemies. However, they were also slow and unsuited for combat against nimbler targets.


 * Hand Grenade
 * Throwing weapon used an alternative to the Cracker Grenade. These waist mounted grenades can be thrown like regular grenades and set to detonate upon impact with the target or timed to explode after a preset time. They come in multiple variants, allowing them to perform different roles in battle.


 * 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 non-guided weapon, it is difficult to hit targets with high mobility.


 * 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.


 * Shoulder Shield
 * The shield is a simple defense used to block most incoming ballistic and explosive projectiles. Also used to great effect in close quarters battle with enemy mobile suits. The Zaku II mounts a shield on its right shoulder.


 * Spiked Shoulder Shield
 * A shoulder shield with a set of spikes on it to enhance its melee combat abilities.


 * Ex-T2-2 Beam Bazooka
 * A weapon originally developed for the Rick Dom. The bazooka has its own internal reactor, rather than an E-cap, and is, essentially, a Musai deck gun scaled down for mobile suit use. Due to using a reactor rather than an E-cap, the bazooka is capable of a single sustained blast or several short bursts, requiring a lengthy recharge period of approximately 10 minutes before it can be used again.


 * Gatling Shield
 * A weapon from the MS-07B-3 Gouf Custom, it is a shield with a powerful, drum-and-belt fed, 75mm Gatling Gun attached to it. The Gatling Gun can detach from the shield itself when it runs out of ammunition.


 * Prototype Large Beam Rifle
 * A experimental beam weapon developed at Axis after the One Year War, it's effective firing range is 1.8 times that of a ordinary beam rifle, because it's powered by it's own built in generator it can be wielded by Zaku type MS. The generator however only has enough power for five shots. Appears in Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Deleted Affair: Portrait Of Young Comet.


 * 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.


 * Flamethrower
 * A handheld incendiary device which can project a long, controllable stream of fire to incinerate targets such as mobile suits, infrastructures, infantry units and combat vehicles.

History
The MS-06 Zaku II series was one of the most produced and versatile mobile suits of the One Year War. And even after its performance was surpassed by its successor mobile suits, like the MS-07B Gouf, the MS-09B Dom, and the MS-14A Gelgoog, it would still see wide-scale service both on the front lines and behind the scenes after the war's end.

During the First Neo Zeon War, the Zaku II would still see use among Haman Karn's Neo Zeon forces, but it would see less of a combat role and more of a support and defense role.

Variants

 * MS-06A Zaku II First Mass Production Type
 * MS-06C Zaku II Early Production Type
 * MS-06D Zaku Desert Type
 * MS-06DRC Desert Zaku Rommel Custom
 * MS-06E Zaku Reconnaissance Type
 * MS-06E-3 Zaku Flipper
 * MS-06EW Zaku Early Warning Type
 * MS-06F Zaku II
 * MS-06F Zaku II Dozle Zabi Custom
 * MS-06F Zaku Minelayer
 * MS-06F Zaku II [Stutzer]
 * MS-06F2 Zaku II F2 Type
 * MS-06F Zaku II Range Finder Type "God's Eye"
 * MS-06FS Zaku II
 * MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai
 * MS-06G Zaku II High Mobility Ground Type
 * MS-06J Zaku II Ground Type
 * MS-06JC Zaku II
 * MS-06K Zaku Cannon
 * MS-06MP Manipulation System Type Zaku II
 * MS-06MS Barbus
 * MS-06L Zaku II Missile Type
 * MS-06 Zaku II (Propellant Unit)
 * MS-06 Zaku Atmospheric Reentry Test Type
 * MS-06 Zaku II Gunner
 * MS-06R-1 Zaku II High Mobility Test Type
 * MS-06R-1A High Mobility Type Zaku II
 * MS-06R-2 Zaku II High Mobility Type
 * MS-06R-2P Zaku II High Mobility Test Type
 * MS-06R-2S Zaku Late Production Type Dozle Zabi Custom
 * MS-06R-3S High Mobility Type Zaku
 * MS-06RD-4 Zaku High Mobility Test Type
 * MS-06RP Zaku II High Mobility Test Type
 * MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type
 * MS-06S Zaku II Patrol Type
 * MS-06T Zaku Trainer Type
 * MS-06V Zaku Tank
 * MS-06V-6 Zaku Tank Green Makaku Cannon Type
 * MS-06V-8 Zaku Tank (Wild Boar)
 * MS-06W Worker Zaku
 * MS-06Z Psycommu System Zaku
 * MSM-01 Zaku Marine Type
 * MSN-01 Psycomu Test High Mobility Type Zaku II
 * MS-06SHAKU Zaku II Shaku Yumiko Custom
 * OMS-06RF RF Zaku

Notes & Trivia

 * The original concept of the Zaku was simply a disposable underling, with its name derived from the sound of a huge man (or many soldiers) walking and the Japanese term 雑魚 (zako), meaning "inferior fish" (the term also signifying expendable grunts).
 * Although partially, the Zaku was a design model for the Russian Jaeger Cherno Alpha, in the 2013 movie Pacific Rim.
 * Later series would often include grunt mobile suits inspired by or based on the Zaku. These mobile suits would generally be painted green, and their model numbers would be partially based on the Zaku's. Some of these include the JDG-009X Death Army, OZ-06MS Leo, RMS-006 Jenice, ZGMF-1017 GINN, ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior, MSJ-06II-A Tieren Ground Type, Hi-Mock, Jahannam and the EB-06 Graze.