The Magellan-class battleship was a battleship that was commissioned in UC 0070 as part of the Federation's "'70s Armament Reinforcement Plan." Developed along side with the Salamis-class cruiser, the Magellan-class had only one refitted design in U.C. 0083 that stemmed from the original shipline.
Technology and Combat Characteristics
When the Magellan-class was first designed and built, the ships had no mega particle cannons, relying on shells and gunpowder to shoot projectiles, but were later refitted with beam weaponry sometime before the One Year War. By UC 0079 all Magellan-class ships featured seven twin mega particle cannon turrets, four internal missile launchers, and 14 anti-aircraft machine guns which would later be used to help defend the ships against mobile suit attacks.
During the latter part of the One Year War, because mobile suit production easily outstripped warship production there was a noted lack of dedicated carriers in the Earth Federation's fleets. To compensate most of the ships already in service were pressed into carrying mobile suits by strapping the machines to the exterior of the hull. Overall it was an inefficient system that made mobile suit repair and supply difficult.
Armaments
- 2-Barrell Mega Particle Guns
- Anti-Aircraft Machine Guns
- Internal Missile Launchers
Special Equipment & Features
- Re-entry Shuttle
- Located underneath the bow of the Magellan-class is a re-entry shuttle capable of re-entering Earth's atmosphere. In the case of a Magellan battleship in danger of being destroyed, the re-entry shuttle can also be used as an escape shuttle.
- One of the most famous moments when the re-entry shuttle of a Magellan was used as an escape shuttle was when the Earth Feration's General Revil used it to escape his crippled flagship, the Annanke, before being captured by the Principality of Zeon's ace pilots, the Black Tri Stars.
- Supplemental Rocket Booster
- The Magellan-class can equip a supplemental rocket booster system to its own main engine thrusters. These would be used to help the Magellan-class leave Earth's atmosphere from Earth Federation bases, like their underground Jaburo headquarters.
History
The Magellan-class battleships were authorized as part of the Year 70 Armament Reinforcement Plan, begun in response to the rapid increase in arms at Side 3. The Magellan-class was developed in conjunction with the Salamis-class cruiser, and at the time of their commissioning the Magellan-class was the most powerful warship in the Earth Federal Space Force.
At the Outbreak of the One Year War the Earth Federal Space Force fleet commanders were surprised by the Zeon deployment of mobile suits, which could out distance, out shoot, and out maneuver the Space Fleets ships. Fortunately for the Magellan-class, Federation engineers had installed several anti-aircraft guns on the battleships, but the Magellan fleet still took losses. Early in the One Year War Fleet Admiral Revil' flagship Ananke was lost at during the Loum War while attempting to prevent a colony drop. Admiral Tianem, commander of the EFSF 4th Fleet lost its flagship Titan while covering retreating Federal Forces after the Loum War. In September Magellan, Admiral Watkins' flagship, was scuttled at Luna II to allow White Base to escape the facility.
As the One Year War entered its final leg the Federation began mass production of their first crude mobile suits. This was a blessing because the Federation's space fleet would now have mobile suits to counter Zeon mobile suits; however, dedicated mobile suit fighting ships such as the Pegasus-class assault carriers were few and far between. This resulted in several Federation ship classes, such as the Magellan, being pressed into service as makeshift mobile suit carriers for the Battle of Solomon and the Battle of A Baoa Qu. After the surrender of the Zeon the Federations fleet contained just a handful of Magellan-class battleships still in service.
After the One Year War the Earth Federation set out to rebuild their badly weakened forces, as a sign of strength and a morale booster for the people. At this time, because the Magellan-class had participated in an actual war, Earth Federation engineers realized that there were a number of inefficiencies and flaws in the design. Also the current base design was considered inadequate for combating mobile suits, which were believed to take part in future conflicts. The engineers worked on upgrading the ship's systems and increasing its anti-mobile suit combat abilities. The resulting ship was the Magellan-class battleship (0083 Refit).
Magellan Kai Refit
In Gundam Sentinel, it was said that a few of the original vintage Magellan-class battleships that were not refitted into the 0083 refit, were refitted in a less expensive version known as the Magellan Kai-class battleship. However, it has never been seen in animation or been seen outside of the Gundam Sentinel series.
Magellan-class fate
The Magellans were phased out from UC 0083 to UC 0088, replaced by new ship designs that could carry mobile suits, such as the Alexandria-class heavy cruisers and the Ra Cailum-class battleships.
Variants
Gallery
References
External links
Template:Universal Century ship classes