MS-05A Zaku I Early Type

In the anime and manga Mobile Suit Gundam universe, the MS-05A Zaku I Early Type was the first successful mobile suit (MS) design to be developed by the Zeonic Company in the Principality of Zeon's quest to develop a combat-capable mobile weapon that used the AMBAC System and the revolutionary Minovsky fusion reactor.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
The Zaku I was the world's first nuclear-powered MS to achieve combat status in the UC timeline. Developed from the Zaku I was developed from the MS-04 Prototype Zaku, and featured technologies that would become standard in all mobile suits. The MS-05A ran a thermonuclear reactor developed and manufactured by the ZAS company that provided the Zaku I with an unlimited power source. The reactor was cooled by stored liquid hydrogen during missions in space, and an air-cooled system when operating on Earth. The Zaku I used the head-mounted Mono-Eye camera system, which was used in conjunction with several cameras mounted around the mobile suit's body and granted the pilot excellent visibility from the enclosed cockpit. The Zaku I also incorporated laser sensors, infra-red sensors, and a powerful computer to facilitate the MS' operation.

Armaments

 * 280 mm 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.


 * 105mm machine gun
 * The 105mm 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. This model used a 100-round drum magazine.


 * Heat hawk
 * An early type of melee weapon developed by Zeon based on the concept of superheating a metal blade to create a weapon that could melt armor as it cut, thus increasing its overall effectiveness. The Heat Hawk is shaped like an axe and is stored on the rear waist armor.


 * Shotgun
 * Work like the normal shell-firing shotgun. Really packs a punch in close range.

History
The Zaku I was first designed and built in U.C. 0074 as the YMS-05, with the design being selected for Zeon's "SUIT Project", and tested against the EMS-04 Zudah for a development contract. It wasn't put into mass-production until later the following year, as the MS-05B Zaku I. The last production run of the MS-05B was in U.C. 0077, before it was replaced by the newer MS-06 Zaku II unit. Only 27 Zaku I Early Type units were produced. While the Zaku I series was no longer being mass produced, it was not difficult to obtain one. Most Zaku I's were assigned to pilots that requested them, or to newly-formed squadrons that were unable to obtain the best equipment available. More would be assigned to the Midnight Fenrir Corp teams. And while Manning and Swaggard would eventually take on additional mobile suits, Austin would keep his Zaku I throughout the remainder of the war, adding different weapons and option parts to suit his liking. These included the MS-07B Gouf’s heat sword, and even a shield salvaged from a fallen RGM-79 GM.

The successful use of these suits prompted the Zeon Navy to commission ships that could carry them into combat, primarily the Musai-Class Light Cruiser. The Zaku I was rendered obsolete by the Zaku II before the beginning of the One Year War, and thus they were relegated for use in the rear lines as supply and construction suits. They still saw some action, though, as colony gassers in the One Week War and, towards the end of the war, they joined frontline combat to reinforce the Zeon's weakening military lines.

Variations
The Zaku I, like many of the Zeon's mobile suit lines, had a few variations of the basic model, such as the MS-05S Zaku I Commander Type and MS-05J Zaku I Land-Warfare Type.
 * MS-05 Zaku First Refined Type 185th Airborne Paratrooper Use
 * MS-05B Zaku I
 * MS-05B Zaku I Land Warfare Type
 * MS-05HS Prototype Zaku Minovsky Particle Scattering Equipment Type
 * MS-05L Zaku I Sniper Type
 * MS-05S Zaku I Commander Type
 * MS-05Q Zaku I (Norris Custom)
 * MS-05 Borjarnon Gavane Goonny Custom
 * Dokuro Type Zaku