RX-75-4 Guntank

The RX-75-4 Guntank was the first prototype Earth Federation mobile suit developed in the "V Project" of the anime Mobile Suit Gundam. However, the Guntank was hardly a mobile suit at all. The Guntank had the torso and arms of a mobile suit, but possessed tank tread-like legs. It also lacked any sort of hands and had a canopy-style cockpit on the head, along with the cockpit in the torso. Like all "V Project" mobile suits, the Guntank used the Core Block System.

The Guntank was developed when the first rumors of the Principality of Zeon's mobile suits reached the Federation. The Guntank was designed as an anti-mobile suit and artillery mobile suit. Although its performance in this role fell below expectations, it did pack a heavy punch. Its main weapons were twin 180mm recoilless cannons, which were effective at both long and medium ranges. The Guntank's two arms ended in four-barrel missile launchers instead of hands. These weapons provided good cover fire against enemy tanks and aircraft, but were less effective against enemy mobile suits.

At the attack on Side 7, only one of the RX-75-4 Guntanks survived the attack. The last prototype made its way to the Pegasus-Class assault cruiser White Base. The Guntank design fought alongside the RX-77-2 Guncannon and the RX-78-2 Gundam, but it was easily outclassed by them. However, after the death of the Guntank pilot Ryu Jose, the mobile suit was upgraded to be used by a single pilot in the canopy-style cockpit. The RX-75-4 Guntank was finally decommissioned at the Federation's General Headquarters at Jaburo, South America in November UC 0079.

In the original Mobile Suit Gundam TV anime, the RX-75-4 Guntank was not decommissioned at Jaburo but continued service on board the White Base until it was destroyed at the Zeon space fortress A Baoa Qu. The discrepancy between the two versions of events exists because the Guntank was seen more as a 'super robot' genre mecha than the 'real robot' genre mecha that the series was aiming for. The movie version of events is considered more canonical, as it reflects the latest version of Tomino's vision.

RX-75-4 Guntank first appear in Mobile Suit Gundam, design by Kunio Okawara.

A mass production model of Guntank was produced later in the war, designated RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type. The mass production type lost the Core Block system to cut costs; the new model could also swivel its upper torso. The original Guntank's 180mm cannons were replaced with smaller 120mm cannons; these cannons could be removed and replaced with other appendages. Some mass produced guntanks were equipped with a foward bulldozer mounted on the front glacis plate and crane for recovery work.

RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type first appear in Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team.

After the One Year War, the development of Guntanks continued, resulting in the RMV-1 Guntank II, which was even more tank-like (and less mobile suit-like) than its predecessors. A pair of recoilless 120mm cannon mounted on its head turret gave it wider firing arcs than previous Guntank models. The new torso was capable of independently rotating, so the arms were replaced with rocket and missile launchers. The new Guntank was designed in every way as a vehicle for ground combat. Some Japanese reference material classifies the Guntank II as a mobile vehicle instead of a mobile suit, hence the RMV code in its model number.

RMV-1 Guntank II first appear as part of Mobile Suit Variations and design by Kunio Okawara.

RX-75-4 Guntank
Manufacturer: Earth Federation Forces "Project V" Operator: Earth Federation Forces Unit type: prototype artillery mobile suit Dimensions: overall height 15.6 meters; head height 15.0 meters Weight: empty 56.0 metric tons; max gross 80.0 metric tons Construction: Luna Titanium Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 878 kW Armament: 2 x 180mm cannon, fire-linked, 30 round magazine each, mounted over shoulders; 2 x 4-tube 40mm rocket launcher, mounted on arms Pilot(s): Ryu Jose, Hayato Kobayashi, Kai Shiden, Amuro Ray

RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type
Manufacturer: Earth Federation Forces Operator: Earth Federation Forces Unit type: artillery mobile suit Dimensions: overall height 15.6 meters; head height 15.0 meters Weight: empty 56.0 metric tons; max gross 80.0 metric tons Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 878 kW Armament: 2 x 120mm cannon, fire-linked, mounted on backpack over shoulders; 2 x 4-barrel machine gun, mounted on arms

RMV-1 Guntank II
Manufacturer: Earth Federation Forces Operator: Earth Federation Forces Unit type: powered artillery mobile suit Dimensions: overall height 16.9 meters; head height 15.2 meters Weight: empty 98.4 metric tons; max gross 123.7 metric tons Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 211 kW Armament: 2 x 120mm recoilless cannon, mounted on head turret; 4-tube rocket pod, mounted on right side of main body; 3-tube missile launcher, mounted on left side of main body; 80mm machine gun, mounted in drive base; 2 x 2-tube smoke discharger, mounted on drive base