The Musai-class (ムサイ級?) is a class of a light cruisers from the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin manga and its OVA adaptation.
Technology & Combat Characteristics[]
During the preparation for its war of independence, the Musai-class light cruiser was developed by the Principality of Zeon military to counter the space fleets of the Earth Federation Space Force. To avoid suspicion, it was developed under the guise of the civilian space cargo ship Arcana-class.[1]
Unlike the space vessels used by the Earth Federation Forces, the Musai was designed with the use of mobile suits in mind. Hangar space takes up the majority of the ship, while engines and the bridge are separate from the main body. Since the ship has a smaller cross section, it has an excellent hit deflection rate, and the main thrusters placed on either side of the ship grant it excellent mobility.[1] However, its firepower and range are inferior to Federation ships.[2]
Inside the bow of the ship is a small craft called "Komusai", which is capable of atmospheric entry. The Komusai hangar is able to hold two mobile suits.[1]
Armaments[]
- Twin Mega Particle Cannon
- The main cannon of the Musai-class, which fires beams of "Mega particles" - Minovsky particles compressed using I-Field. A total of three are mounted on the main shaft connecting the main body and the bridge. They are controlled from the ship's fire control room.[1]
- 4-barrel Machine Cannon
- The Musai-class is armed with two 4-barreled machine cannons mounted behind the bridge.
- Machine Cannon
- The Musai-class is armed with three 2-barreled machine cannons, two mounted on the ventral hull of the main body, and an additional 2-barreled machine cannon under the bridge.
- Missile Launcher
- The Musai-class is equipped with two large missile launchers amounted at the base of the ship's neck.
Special Equipment & Features[]
- Komusai
- Contained in the bow of the Musai, the Komusai is a spacecraft with atmospheric entry and atmospheric flight capabilities. Its has enough internal space for two mobile suits, with mechanisms to hold them in place. Its hatch is located on the top.[3]
Ships of the Line[]
Only ships with known names are listed
Iwo Jima[]
An Early Production Type Musai-class. It was sunk during the Battle of Loum while shielding the Valkyrie.[4]
Retvizan, Kiel, Zátopek, Bertin, Amagi, Rheinland[]
Musai-class ships that participated during the Battle of Loum. All of these ships took various degrees of damage.[5]
Valkyrie[]
The personal ship of Dozle Zabi, the supreme commander of Zeon space fleet, the Valkyrie was redesigned as a fleet command ship. It is 30% larger than a standard Musai, has improved communication capabilities, and features a set of larger, more powerful mega particle cannons. It features an admiral bridge at the top of the ship, for the planning and briefing of operations [6][4].
Falmer[]
Char Aznable's ship, given to him by Dozle Zabi for his mission to track down the Federation's mobile suit development project, Operation V.[7] Since it was designed to execute special missions without support, its thrust and detection capabilities were improved. Because of this, its first bridge featured blade antennas and a high-performance internal radome. The shape of its second bridge was also different.[8]
History[]
The Musai-class first saw combat when the One Year War broke out on January 3rd, U.C.0079. They comprised the bulk of the Zeon fleets, led by Vice Admiral Dozle Zabi and Major General Kycilia Zabi, that attacked and took over the lunar cities of Granada and Von Braun, as well as Side 2, Hatte.[2]
On January 23, Zeon's fleets clashed with the Earth Federation Forces' fleets at Side 5, Loum. Dozle's fleet clashed with the Tianem fleet, which was as large as Zeon's entire fleet on its own, while the Revil fleet, three times the size of the Tianem fleet, was en route to reinforce Tianem. A large number of Musai-class was destroyed during the battle. However, the Dozle fleet soon slipped away from the Tianem fleet and caught the Revil fleet in a pincer attack with the Special Assault Regiment from A Baoa Qu, decimating it and forcing the Tianem fleet to abandon its offensive to cover it.[2]
As peace negotiation with the Earth Federation was about to begin, Dozle learned of the existence of Operation V, the Federation's top secret mobile suit development project. He ordered Lieutenant Commander Char Aznable to find and destroy Operation V, and gave him the Falmer, a customized Musai that he personally named and handpicked the crew for, to carry out this mission.[7]
Gallery[]
Lineart[]
Anime[]
.png "Musai-Class Front 01 (Origin OVA Ep5).png (1.75 MB)")
.png "Musai-Class Underside 01 (Origin OVA Ep4).png (1.33 MB)")
.png "Musai-Class Twin Mega Particle Cannons 01 (Origin OVA Ep5).png (2.23 MB)")
.png "Musai-Class Twin Mega Particle Cannons Firing 01 (Origin OVA Ep5).png (3.63 MB)")
.png "Musai-Class 4-barrel Machine Cannons 01 (Origin OVA Ep5).png (3.01 MB)")
.png "Musai-class \"Valkyrie\" Bridge Exterior 01 (Origin OVA Ep5).png (2.42 MB)")
.png "Musai-Class Hangar Hatch 01 (Origin OVA Ep6).png (3.24 MB)")
Illustrations & Artwork[]
Action Figures[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- The origin of the Musai as a civilian ship designed for easy conversion for war closely mimics the real-life re-armament program of Nazi Germany, especially the design of the Dornier D0-17 medium bomber as a fast mail plane.
Appearances[]
- Manga
- Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin
- Chapter 60, On the Eve
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin ~Character & Mechanical Work~ Vol.1, p.94
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Clash at Loum
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin ~Character & Mechanical Work~ Vol.1, p.95
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Episode 1, Blue-Eyed Casval
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Episode 5, Clash at Loum
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin ~Character & Mechanical Work~ Vol.1, p.96
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Episode 6, Rise of the Red Comet
- ↑ MECHANICAL|機動戦士ガンダム THE ORIGIN 公式サイト
External Links[]
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