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The Big Tray-class is a series of large land battleships first seen in Mobile Suit Gundam. It also appears in Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team and Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2: The Gravity Front.

Technology & Combat Characteristics[]

A hovercraft-based land battleship, the Big Tray was propelled by thermonuclear jet engines and capable of rapidly traversing all terrains, including water.[1][2][3] It was armed with three triple gun turrets, two pointed at the front and one located at the rear. At the front of the ship are two large caliber cannons.[4] The variant used by the Far Eastern Front Army replaced the front cannons with mega particle cannons for increased firepower.[5]

Despite its heavy firepower, it was mostly intended to serve as a mobile command center for generals, and contained a large command room in its bridge.[1] Under Minovsky particle interference, it relied on its embarked Dragonfly reconnaissance aircraft to search for enemies.[4] The Big Tray-class normally carried such aircraft on a landing deck behind the bridge, though it was also capable of carrying and supporting mobile suits. While uncommon, some iterations of the Big Tray-class were seen with aft mounted hangars capable of carrying tanks and trucks in a support tole.

Armaments[]

  • Large Bow Gun
The ship is equipped with two large shell firing cannons on the lower part of the bow. They are fixed weapons and unable to traverse independently of the ship. Some variants replace these with two mega particle cannons.
  • Triple Gun
The ship is equipped with one triple gun turret each on the port and starboard overhangs and one at the rear of the ship. Each turret is able to rotate 180 degrees and provides the ship clear firing arcs in all directions. The guns are similar to old style conventional artillery guns, the turrets able to traverse their guns up and fire in arcs to fire long ranged high explosive shells.
  • Twin Machine Gun
The Big Tray-class seen in 08th MS Team and MS Igloo is seen to be armed with eight twin machine gun turrets, with one mounted on each side of the bridge tower's base, two mounted behind the bridge, two mounted atop the bridge, and the two placed behind the ship.

History[]

The Big Tray-class was originally constructed prior to the One Year War as mobile command centers to supplement the bases of Earth Federation Forces, which were unable to cover all of Earth on their own.[6] During the war, its role became even more vital as Minovsky particles disrupted long range communications, forcing commanders to issue orders from the frontline.[3]

During Operation Odessa, 12 Big Tray-class ships participated in battle, including General Revil's flagship, Bataan.[7] Several Big Trays were used as decoys for the Bataan. One of these Big Trays, in the mountains of Lithuania, was destroyed by Zeon; however, thanks to proper planning from Federation mobile suit pilot Captain Matt Healy, the Earth Federation did not lose any personnel and managed to destroy an MS-09B Dom and two MS-07B Gouf mobile suits. Other Big Tray-class ships were seen providing artillery support alongside the 44th Mechanized Composite Regiment, and the class as a whole continued to see frontline service for the remainder of Operation Odessa.

One Big Tray served as a mobile command center for the Earth Federation Forces in South-East Asia. It played a prominent role in the Earth Federation's efforts to push the final remnants of Zeon's Earth Attack Forces off the Earth. Commanded by Captain Isan Ryer, it was guarded by several RGM-79(G) GM Sniper mobile suits and fought against the Apsaras III. The ship would be destroyed by the end of the South-East Asia Campaign.

Since the end of the One Year War, when large-scale offensives ceased to exist, the ship class's strategic value rapidly declined. One ship, the Queen Turtle, participated in the defense of the New Guinea base during the Gryps War.[8]

Variants[]

A miniaturized variant of the Big Tray-class, ships of the class have been seen serving as secondary command centers for smaller task forces. While less armed than the Big Tray-class, the Mini Tray-class was faster and more maneuverable than their larger lumbering counterparts. Many sightings of the Mini Tray-class often had them escorting Big Tray-class ships into battle.

Gallery[]

Anime[]

Games[]

Notes & Trivia[]

  • During the making of Mobile Suit Gundam, the complex camouflage pattern of the Big Tray made it very difficult to draw, so most of its scenes either had it immobile or simply sliding across the screen.[9]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Roman Album Extra 42 - Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow (1981), p.72
  2. Entertainment Bible 37 - Mobile Suit Gundam Mechanics Encyclopedia (1991), p.110
  3. 3.0 3.1 Mobile Suit Gundam MS Igloo - Graphic File (2009), p.184
  4. 4.0 4.1 Mobile Suit Gundam MS Igloo - Mission Complete (2009), p.106
  5. Mobile Suit Gundam - Ship & Aerospace Plane Encyclopedia - Revised Edition (2015), p.114
  6. Entertainment Bible 39 - Mobile Suit Gundam - Big Book of Strategy and Tactics (1991), p.26
  7. Entertainment Bible 39 - Mobile Suit Gundam - Big Book of Strategy and Tactics (1991), p.80
  8. Advance of Zeta: The Traitor to Destiny
  9. Roman Album Extra 35 - Mobile Suit Gundam (1980) p.133

External links[]


Mobile Suit Gundam Mechanics
edit
Earth Federation Forces
Mobile Weapon
Mobile Suit
RGM-79 GM | RX-75-4 Guntank | RX-77-2 Guncannon | RX-78-2 Gundam | RX-78-2 Gundam + B-Parts
Mobile Pod
RB-79 Ball

Land Vehicle
Anti-Zaku Tank | Missile Buggy | Missile Car | Type 61 Tank | Vulcan Armored Car
Land Battleship
Big Tray-class
Ship
Himalaya-class
Aircraft / Spacecraft
Depp Rog | Dish | Don Escargot | Dragonfly | Fanfan | FF-4 Toriares | FF-X7 Core Fighter | FF-X7-Bst Core Booster | Flyarrow | Fly Manta | G-Armor | G-Bull | G-Bull Easy | G-Fighter | G-Sky | G-Sky Easy | Public-class | Space Launch
Transporter / Supply Ship
Columbus-class | Gunperry | Medea
Cruiser / Mother Ship
Magellan-class | Pegasus-class | Salamis-class | SCV-70 White Base | Trafalgar-class
Super Weapon
Solar System
Principality of Zeon
Mobile Weapon
Mobile Suit
MS-05B Zaku I | MS-06 Zaku II | MS-06F Zaku II | MS-06J Zaku II Ground Type | MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type | MS-07B Gouf | MS-09B Dom | MS-09R Rick Dom | MS-14A Gelgoog | MS-14S Gelgoog Commander Type | MSM-03 Gogg | MSM-04 Acguy | MSM-07 Z'Gok | MSM-07S Z'Gok Commander Type | MSM-10 Zock | MSN-02 Zeong | YMS-15 Gyan
Mobile Armor
MA-04X Zakrello | MA-05 Bigro | MA-08 Big Zam | MAM-07 Grublo | MAN-03 Braw Bro | MAN-08 Elmeth | MAX-03 Adzam

Land Vehicle
Cui | Magella Attack | Samson
Land Battleship
Dobday-class | Gallop-class
Ship / Submarine
Jukon-class | Mad Angler-class | Prober-class | Sealance
Aircraft / Spacecraft
Dodai YS | Dopp | Gattle | Jicco-class | Commu | Luggun | PVN.4/3 Wappa | Sodon | Zeon Space Launch
Transporter / Supply Ship
Fat Uncle | Komusai | Papua-class | Pazock-class
Cruiser / Mother Ship
Chivvay-class | Dolos-class | Gaw | Gwazine-class | Musai-class | Zanzibar-class
Super Weapon
Solar Ray
Civilians
Mobile Weapon
Mobile Suit
MS-06J Zaku II Ground Type

Aircraft / Spacecraft
Space Boat "Hulke" | Towing Ship | TV Space Boat


MS IGLOO 2 Mechanics
edit
Earth Federation
Mobile Weapon
Mobile Suit
RGM-79[G] GM Ground Type | RTX-440 Ground Assault Type Guntank

Support Weapon
M-101A3 Regina
Land Vehicle
6×6 Cargo Truck | M353A4 Bloodhound | M72 Lakota | M61A5 MBT
Land Battleship
Big Tray-class | Heavy Fork-class
Aircraft / Spacecraft
Dragonfly | FF-X7 Core Fighter
Cruiser
Salamis-class
Principality of Zeon
Mobile Weapon
Mobile Suit
MS-05B Zaku I | MS-06J Zaku II Ground Type | MS-07B-3 Gouf Custom | MS-09B Dom

Land Vehicle
B.M.C. Z78/2 | Magella Attack | Magella Eins | PVN.3/2 Sauropelta | PVN.44/1 Weasel | Russel 1/12 Zebu
Land Battleship
Dobday-class
Aircraft
Dopp | PVN.4/3 Wappa
Transporter / Supply Ship
H.L.V. | Komusai | Papua-class
Cruiser / Mother Ship
Gaw | Musai-class


The 08th MS Team Mechanics
edit
Earth Federation Forces
Mobile Weapon
Mobile Suit
RGM-79[E] GM Early Type | RGM-79[G] GM Ground Type | RGM-79[G] GM Sniper | RX-75 Berge Guntank | RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type | RX-79[G] Gundam Ground Type | RX-79[G]Ez-8 Gundam Ez8
Mobile Pod
RB-79K Ball Type K

Land Vehicle
Hover Cargo Truck | M61A5 MBT | Hover Truck
Land Battleship
Big Tray-class
Ship
Jungle Boat
Aircraft / Spacecraft
Dish | Fanfan | FF-6 TIN Cod | Jet Core Booster
Transporter / Supply Ship
Gunperry | Medea | Cargo Ship
Cruiser / Mother Ship
Magellan-class | Salamis-class
Principality of Zeon
Mobile Weapon
Mobile Suit
MS-05B Zaku I | MS-06F Zaku II | MS-06JC Zaku II | MS-06K Zaku Cannon | MS-06RD-4 Zaku High Mobility Test Type | MS-06V Zaku Tank | MS-07B-3 Gouf Custom | MS-07H-8 Gouf Flight Type | MS-09B Dom | MS-14A Gelgoog | MSM-03 Gogg | MSM-04 Acguy
Mobile Armor
Apsaras I | Apsaras II | Apsaras III

Land Vehicle
Armored Vehicle | Magella Attack
Ship / Submarine
Jukon-class | Mad Angler-class | Sealance
Aircraft / Spacecraft
Cui | Dodai II | Dopp | Gunship Heli | Luggun
Transporter / Supply Ship
Dora | Komusai
Cruiser / Mother Ship
Gaw | Musai-class | Zanzibar-class
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