The Dobday-class [1][2]p. 20 (ダブデ Dabude?) was a Principality of Zeon land battleship introduced in Mobile Suit Gundam.
Technology & Combat Characteristics[]
The Dobday-class was a class of large land battleships[3] that served as mobile command posts and artillery platforms. It was propelled by two sets of massive caterpillar treads,[4] Its greatest characteristic was its emphasis on ballistic weapons rather than beam weapons.[1] It was armed with two twin heavy cannon turrets, as well as a pair of twin machine gun turrets below the bridge. When firing its main cannons, the chassis would be stabilized by four dampers to keep the landship from toppling over.[3] Located on its back was a large external deck. The deck could be used for the landing and take-off of the Commu reconnaissance plane, while the hangar housed at least one missile launcher.[5] Though the ship lacked mobile suit storage capabilities, at least two mobile suits could stand on the deck.[6]
Having being designed for combat under Minovsky particle, the Dobday's front bridge was placed high above the ship for better vision while under Minovsky particle interference. Compared to the Federation's Big Tray-class and Heavy Fork-class land battleships, the Dobday was inferior in terms of speed and mobility due to using caterpillar treads instead of thermonuclear jet engine-propelled hovercraft. This was likely because Zeon wanted to shorten its development time by selecting a tried-and-true locomotion method.[7]
According to one account, the Dobday-class was based on the chassis of a command post that was being developed by the Russian weapon development bureau. It was said that Zeon was trying to lessen the burden on the production lines in the Zeon homeland by reusing captured enemy weapon designs. It was possible that Russian technicians assisted in the creation of the Dobday's large cannons.[1]
A variant of the Dobday-class was seen during Operation Odessa. This variant was propelled by three pairs of smaller caterpillar treads and armed with 6 twin machine gun turrets, 3 on either side. Its dampers were also replaced with outriggers.[7]
Armaments[]
- Twin Large Cannon
- The primary weapons of the Dobday-class were a pair of twin barreled cannons mounted on the sides of the ship. Since the caliber of the cannons were too large for the Dobday's chassis, it had to be stabilized when firing to prevent the chassis from overturning. This was one of the reasons for the ship’s immense weight and low mobility. The twin cannons could turn 180 degrees on their mounts and elevate their guns upwards, though they couldn’t point down.[7]
- Twin Machine Gun
- These weapons were used for anti-air and anti-ground defense.[8] Depending on the variant, the Dobday was equipped with either two or six of these weapons. Used in close ranged defensive purposes, these guns could fire standard high caliber rounds against incoming mobile suits or vehicles, explosive flak rounds against enemy aircraft. Either variant of the Dobday has these guns mounted on the 'neck' of the battleship, protecting the bridge.[3][7]
- Missile Launcher
- Concealed in the hangar in the back, the Dobday-class was armed with at least one missile launcher, which could be used to fire a nuclear missile. It is unknown if the ship could carry more than one launcher.[5]
History[]
During the One Year War, numerous Dobday-class were assigned to the European Front.[4] One such vessel served as the flagship of M'Quve during Operation Odessa, from which he threatened to launch a nuclear missile at Federation Forces. Though there were conflicting accounts as to whether or not he actually did so. Other ships of the class also saw action during Operation Odessa.[9][10]
During the Battle of Hill 144 on November 8 and November 9, two Dobday-class appeared and dealt significant casualties to the Federation's 44th Independent Composite Brigade using their artillery cannons. However, both ships were eventually destroyed by the sacrifices of two RTX-440 Ground Assault Type Guntank.[8]
During the Federation attack on California Base, a North American Zeon missile base attempted to fire its nuclear payload at California Base to prevent its recapture. A Dobday-class served as one of the missile control centers, but was destroyed by the RX-79BD-1 Blue Destiny Unit 1 along with the other control centers, preventing the missiles from launching.[11]
Gallery[]
Anime[]
.png "Dobday-Class Front 01 (MSG Ep25).png (3.7 MB)")
_01_(MSG_Ep25).png "Nuclear Missiles (UC) 01 (MSG Ep25).png (3.69 MB)")
.jpg "Dabude (MS IGLOO).jpg (83 KB)")
Game[]
Notes & Trivia[]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mobile Suit Gundam: MSV Collection File - Earth Edition, 124
- ↑ "MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM The Movie Trilogy BEYOND THE UNIVERSAL CENTURY (806404)" (in Japanese, English). Mobile Suit Gundam Movie Trilogy - 4K UHD Collector's Edition (UHD Blu-ray ANI8064 806408). Anime Limited. 2024-06-24. EAN 5037899085110.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 (1991-07-01) 機動戦士ガンダム メカニック大図鑑 [Mobile Suit Gundam Mechanic Encyclopedia] ENTERTAINMENT BIBLE.37 (in Japanese). Bandai, p. 112. ISBN 9784891891688.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mobile Suit Gundam - Complete Record 3 (1980), p.176
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Mobile Suit Gundam - Ship & Aerospace Plane Encyclopedia - Revised Edition (2015), p.99
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam - MS IGLOO Mission Complete (2009), p.108
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO Graphic File (2009), p.188-189
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2: The Gravity Front Episode 3,
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam Episode 25, The Battle of Odessa
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: The Blue Destiny
External links[]
| 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 | |
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| |
| 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 | |