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- Origin
The SCV-70 (LMSD-71) White Base is a Pegasus-class mobile suit carrier deployed by the Earth Federation. Through the first part of One Year War, the White Base's registration name was unknown to the Principality of Zeon forces, who referred to it by the codename Trojan Horse (木馬 Mokuba?, "wooden horse", which is how the Trojan Horse is traditionally called in Greek), presumably because of its unusual equine shape. After the war, it was re-designated with the model number MSC-02 even though the ship itself was destroyed at A Baoa Qu.
Technology & Combat Characteristics[]
The White Base was highly modularized, composed of seven basic blocks: the central hangar, the bridge and the living quarters, the engine room and the rear landing port, the two main hangars on the front, and the two main engines at the back. The greatest characteristic of its interior design was the large size of its living area (which was twice that of previous vessels), the presence of an artificial gravity area, and the pass-through deck which connects the stern and the bow. These features greatly increased the ship's operational ability and livability.[1]
The White Base was equipped with two main engines with 32,000 tons of thrust each. These thrusters were fundamentally the same as the ones used by the Salamis-class and the Magellan-class, but were far more powerful, capable of propelling the ship out of the atmosphere with no need for auxiliary boosters. In addition, the White Base was equipped with a Minovsky Craft System. These engines could be detached in case of damage.[1]
Having been redesigned as a mobile suit carrier as part of Operation V, the White Base's hangar was equipped with a series of sub-systems for the use of mobile suits, including the FF-X7 Core Fighter's landing system, the RX mobile suit equipment change system, and mobile suit launching system. These sub-systems were all controlled using a computer. These included the arresting gear for slowing down the Core Fighters, mechanical arms that allowed them to transform into Core Blocks, and a maintenance area in the hangar deck's rear where mobile suit maintenance and Core Block docking took place.[1]
The center of the hangar deck was used as the parking and arming area, where regular maintenance and arming was carried out. Finally, units are launched from the front of the hangar deck using a catapult system. Intended to save fuel when launching, the catapult system was driven by linear motors. The White Base has four catapults, two for RX mobile suits and two for Core Fighters. Behind each catapult was a jet blast deflector.[1]
The White Base's weapons consisted of one large caliber main cannon, a pair of mega particle cannons, 18 anti-aircraft guns, and 32 missile launchers. The White Base's mega particle cannons were originally a short-barreled model with two barrels side by side. These were later refitted into a long-barreled model, with one barrel atop and another below.[1]
Armaments[]
- 580mm 2-Barrel Main Gun
- The White Base's main and most powerful armament was a 580mm (or 880mm[2][3]) two-barrel cannon mounted just fore of the bridge. When not deployed, the mount was lowered in the hull with an armored hatch deployed over it. This gun originally fired shells, but it was later modified to fire beams after being upgraded at Jaburo in order to be effective in space.
- Twin Mega Particle Cannon
- The White Base mounted a pair of retractable twin mega particle cannons in the circular "shields" on the sides of the vessel. They are originally mounted on an extendable horizontal mount - allowing them to swivel to the sides or aft, but preventing them from firing under the ship. After the ship was retrofitted at Jaburo, these weapons were mounted sideways directly in a less vulnerable manner. The cannons could then rotate in a 180-degree arc on their mounts, allowing them to fire forwards, above, below, and aft of the ship.
- 3-Tube Missile Launcher
- Eight 3-tube missile launchers are mounted at the front of the White Base, with a pair on each side of the two arm-like struts.
- 4-Tube Missile Launchers
- White Base is equipped with a pair of rear facing 4-tube missile launchers for fending off pursuing ships or mobile suits. Each set of missile launchers are mounted on the aft of the engine blocks, above the thrusters.
- Twin Anti-Aircraft Gun
- Eighteen retractable twin anti-aircraft guns are mounted across the hull of the White Base to defend against enemy fighters and mobile suits. Six are mounted around the bridge, six mounted midship, and two on the underside of each engine nacelle. The guns around the bridge and midship are open-top turrets, requiring gunners to wear normal suits when using them in space, while the two on the engine nacelles are in pressurized ball mounts. All guns are capable of being retracted into the hull when not in use.
History[]
The first Pegasus-class ship to enter service was the White Base, which was launched in July UC 0079.[4] The ship was sent in September to retrieve the Federation's mobile suits at Side 7 for field-testing. In the middle of this mission, the ship unexpectedly found herself in the middle of a battle with a Zeon special forces unit led by Char Aznable, which resulted in heavy casualties among both the colony's civilian population and Federation personnel. In the middle of the battle, civilians and the surviving crew aboard White Base repulsed the Zeon attack, and managed to get the White Base underway.
She first landed at Luna II, home of the remaining Earth Federal Space Force ships, where she was promptly seized by the base commander, who proceeded to interrogate the crew, militia, and civilian survivors on board. In the middle of this interrogation, Char attacked Luna II, searching for the White Base. White Base managed to escape from Luna II, and sailed next for Earth. Upon making contact with the Federation's Earth Forces under the command of General Revil, the White Base was drawn into a battle in the ruins of Seattle, in which they shot down a Gaw containing Garma Zabi (who was maneuvered into attacking the White Base by Char).
The White Base then proceeded to meet up with Revil's forces that were assembling for Operation Odessa. Along the trek through Asia, the White Base was hunted down by a Zeon special forces unit under the command of Ramba Ral. Eventually meeting up with the Federation forces, the White Base participated in Operation Odessa, helping to break the back of the Zeon forces on Earth. White Base then restocked and refueled in Belfast before traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to Jaburo.
The White Base arrived and docked at Jaburo, the Federation's main base and mobile suit manufacturing facility located underground in South America; Unfortunately, they ended up leading Char's Mad Angler unit to Jaburo, at which point he attempted an infiltration, which was repulsed. Following the failed Zeon raid on Jaburo the White Base was re-launched into space, re-designated the 13th Autonomous Corps, and sent to Side 6 in a diversionary move aimed at drawing off Zeon forces from Solomon. After eliminating the Conscon Fleet, the White Base rendezvoused with the remaining ships in the Space force, and participated in the Battle of Solomon and in the Battle of A Baoa Qu.
During the Battle of A Baoa Qu White Base became a rally point for the surviving ships in Admiral Revil's fleet after Gihren Zabi unleashed the Solar Ray, a gigantic colony laser. Assisted by other ships, White Base spearheaded an assault against one of A Baoa Qu's Defensive lines. During the battle, White Base was rammed into the asteroid in an effort to force a way inside. Unfortunately, this grounded the White Base, and she was set to self-destruct during the battle, though the crew evacuates in shuttles.
During the Third Neo Zeon War, Banagher Links and Full Frontal were able to travel across space and time using the Neo Zeong's psycho shard. As they time travel through the One Year War, one of the events they witnessed was the destruction SCV-70 White Base inside the space fortress A Baoa Qu.
In the Mobile Suit Gundam novel trilogy, the White Base and Pegasus-class titles were swapped around, becoming the White Base-class Pegasus. In the novels, the Pegasus would be used briefly until a fight in Texas Colony would ground the Pegasus, forcing the crew to evacuate. They would get the replacement Pegasus II soon after, the ship staying in service until the end of the One Year War.
Gallery[]
Lineart[]
Anime[]
.png "White Base Underside 01 (MSG Ep4).png (4.99 MB)")
.png "White Base Bridge 01 (MSG Ep3).png (4.96 MB)")
.png "White Base Twin Anti-Aircraft Guns Firing 01 (MSG Ep31).png (3.59 MB)")
.png "White Base 580mm 2-Barrel Main Guns 01 (MSG Ep4).png (3.89 MB)")
.png "White Base 3-Tube Missile Launchers 01 (MSG Ep31).png (2.62 MB)")
.png "White Base 4-Tube Missile Launchers 01 (MSG Ep31).png (3 MB)")
.png "White Base Weapons 01 (MSG Ep32).png (4.44 MB)")
.png "White Base Main Gun & Twin Mega Particle Cannons Firing 01 (MSG Ep36).png (5.33 MB)")
.png "White Base's Destruction 01 (MSG Ep43).png (4.49 MB)")
.png "GM and Ball (Gundam 08th MS Team).png (1.97 MB)")
Illustrations & Artwork[]
Games[]
Gunpla[]
![Realistic Model Series 1/144 HGUC Use White Base Catapult Deck [Renewal Edition] (P-Bandai exclusive; 2019): box art](/wiki/File:White_Base_Catapult_Deck_-Renewal_Ver.-.jpg "White Base Catapult Deck -Renewal Ver.-.jpg (557 KB)")
Action Figures[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- White Base's unit designation as the 13th Autonomous Corps would outlive the ship itself, with a Federation Space Force unit operating under that name into the UC 120s.
- A few shots of White Base in the anime mistakenly depicts it with eight twin anti-aircraft guns around the bridge.
- Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator of the Gundam franchise, is known to dislike the appearance of the White Base due to its colors (he wanted it to be black) and non-aerodynamic design.
Appearances[]
- Television Series
- Mobile Suit Gundam
- Episode 1, Gundam Rising
- First Appearance
- Episode 10, Garma's Fate
- Episode 11, Icelina- Love's Remains
- Episode 12, The Threat of Zeon
- Episode 13, Coming Home
- Episode 14, Time, Be Still
- Episode 15, Cucuruz Doan's Island
- Episode 35, The Glory of Solomon
- Episode 1, Gundam Rising
- Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
- Episode 25, The Face of Rommel
- Mentioned only
- Episode 25, The Face of Rommel
- OVAs and ONAs
- All That Gundam
- Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
- Episode 3, And at the End of the Rainbow?
- Mentioned only
- Episode 3, And at the End of the Rainbow?
References[]
External links[]
- Library of Londonion (ship names & fates) (archived at Archive.org)
- White Base on Wikipedia (Japan)