The Zanzibar (ザンジバル Zanjibaru?) was a class of mobile assault cruiser introduced in anime Mobile Suit Gundam.[1]
Technology & Combat Characteristics[]
The Zanzibar-class Mobile Cruiser was a type of carrier utilized by the Principality of Zeon during the One Year War. These ships were functionally equivalent to the EFSF's Pegasus-class assault carriers, and filled a similar role in the battlefield. It aimed to maintain a long supply line between Side 3 and the Earth, and was the only class of Zeon warship that was capable of atmospheric re-entry and returning to Space. Its design concept leaned more towards an aircraft than a space ship and, as the Zanzibar was not equipped with Minovsky Craft System, it flied atmospherically with wings and a lifting body using conventional thermonuclear power. For atmospheric launch into Space, the Zanzibar was equipped with a rocket booster and use a catapult.
As a mobile suit carrier, the Zanzibar was not equipped with a MS catapult, so the mobile suits were launched on their own via a hatch on the side, or at the bottom of the hull. The mega particle guns were fixed in forward position, but the main gun and anti-aircraft guns were retractable. A super-large missile, called the J-Missile, was deployed on each side of the bow. Individual ships were known to have different weapons and loadouts according to operational needs.
Armaments[]
- Twin Mega Particle Gun
- The Zanzibar-class was armed with a twin-barreled mega particle gun positioned forward on the ship's dorsal hull aft of the bridge. The turret was retractable and could swivel around 360 degrees, though it had little to no ability to aim upwards or downwards. When not in use, the turret was lowered into the ship's hull and sealed with an armored hatch, either for protection or for atmospheric entry.
- Mega Particle Gun
- The Zanzibar-class was armed with four mega particle guns, two on each side of the ship. They were locked in a forward firing position, requiring the ship to constantly face the enemy if it needed to use them. They were retractable and could be locked in armored hatches for protection.
- J-Missile Launch Tube
- The Zanzibar-class was armed with two large launch tubes with one on each side of the vessel, each capable of firing a large J-Missile, which was capable of seriously crippling or even destroying a battleship in a single attack. The missile was large and powerful enough to use sophisticated target lock even under Minovsky Particle interference - though these missiles were expensive and very few in number. Unlike Zanzibar's other weapons, the launch tubes were not closed - leaving the missile vulnerable to enemy's attack from up close.
- 2-Barrel Anti-Aircraft Gun
- The Zanzibar-class was armed with five 2-barrel anti-aircraft guns used for defending against enemy fighters and mobile suits and were unsuitable for anti-ship purposes. One was located under the nose of the ship, two on each side near the front, and one atop each of its large engine intakes. When not in use, these guns could be retracted into the hull - either for protection or for atmospheric entry.
Special Equipment & Features[]
- Booster
- For launching back to Space, the Zanzibar-class could be equipped with a rocket booster at its rear. Its size was almost as big as the ship itself to provide ample thrust to the cruiser for breaking through the atmosphere. The booster was then detached and disposed once the Zanzibar enters the Space[2].
Ships in Class[3][]
- CCM-80 Zanzibar[4]
- The first ship of the Zanzibar-class which was commissioned in June, U.C. 0076.[5] Other details were not known.
- Zanzibar (Ramba Ral)
- Dispatched by Lt. Gen. Dozle Zabi of Zeon's Space Attack Force to avenge the death of Col. Garma Zabi, an unnamed Zanzibar cruiser carried Cpt. Ramba Ral and his troops descended onto Earth in pursuit of EFF's White Base carrier. Ral's Zanzibar was equipped with four giant floodlights in place of the mega particle cannons.[1]
- Madagascar
- The Zanzibar-class cruiser which Col. M'Quve boarded when he escaped into Space after the Zeon Army was defeated by the EFGF in Operation Odessa. It was said to be the same ship which brought the ace pilot trio Black Tri-Stars to Earth.[6]
- In the movie Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow, the ship's hull color was purplish gray with the brown booster. In the TV version, its hull color was dark green and no booster was equipped,[7] and it was referred only as the "Zanzibar" by the narrator.
- In Mobile Suit Gundam's novelization, it was the name of the flagship of the 300th Independent Squadron commanded by Col. Char Aznable. Its captain was Maj. Bruce Marshall. Being classified as a space mobile battleship, the hull was described as egg-shaped. It was equipped with the super-large thermonuclear missile called Fif, which is equivalent to the J-Missile. In addition to the Elmeth and Rick Doms, it also commanded two battalions of Gattle fighter bombers to engage the EFF's Pegasus J carrier in the airspace above the Corregidor Reef, but it was forced to retreat after half of its engines became inoperable due to damage. The squadron then moved to A Baoa Qu, and the ship's subsequent fate was unknown.
- Ragnarök
- This was Char Aznable's flagship in Space after the failed invasion of Jaburo. Appeared in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam and the manga Gundam The Origin, the ship's name comes from the manga and it was referred only as the "Zanzibar" in both the TV series and the movie, where it was originally used by Zeon's mobile armor test force commanded by Cpt. Tokwan, and the Ragnarök was carrying one Bigro, one Zakrello and two Rick Doms. It was requisitioned by Char to pursue the EFF's White Base carrier, and was later incorporated into the Maj. Gen. Kycilia Zabi's 300th Independent Squadron, a.k.a the Newtype Corps.
- Under Kycilia's command and flanked by three Musai cruisers, the Ragnarök launched a direct attack on the EFF fleet and it destroyed one Magellan battleship with a J-Missile, but it was eventually sunk by the concentrated fire from the White Base.[8]
- In Gundam Battle Operation Code Fairy manga, the Ragnarök was seen being launched from Zeon's California Base, and Col. Char Aznable entrusted the base's defense to Maj. Killy Garrett before returning into Space with the cruiser.
- Zanzibar (Kycilia Zabi)
- Appeared near the end of Operation Star One when the fall of A Baoa Qu is imminent, an unnamed Zanzibar cruiser was boarded by Maj. Gen. Kycilia Zabi in an attempt to escape. It was shown to house four 2-barrel mega particle turrets in place of the standard forward-facing guns[9]. The pilot-suited Char Aznable caught the ascending Zanzibar in time to fire a bazooka shot directly to the Zanzibar's bridge, killing Kycilia Zabi instantly and her Zanzibar was sunk by concentrated fire from the EFF at A Baoa Qu's surface and exploded[9].
- CCM-84 Kerguelen[10]
- Appeared in OVA Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, the Kerguelen was installed with a gravity block and it had been utilized as the power source of Zeon's secret mining base in Tibetan Plateau, South East Asia where the Apsaras mobile armor was developed.[11] When the EFF finally laid siege to the base in December U.C. 0079, the Kerguelen was used as a hospital ship to evacuate injured soldiers and remaining staff at the base. However it was shot by EFF's GM Sniper and exploded in mid-air.[12]
- Lemuria
- Mentioned in design series Mobile Suit Variation,[13] Lemuria was a Zanzibar-class experimental ship which was dispatched from Zeon's lunar base Granada to test the three MS-06Z Psycommu System Zakus at the Corregidor Reef area in late UC 0079.[14] Its fate after the war was unknown.
- Anastasia
- Appeared in the manga Mobile Suit Gundam Aggressor, Anastasia was a Zeon's Zanzibar-class cruiser which attacked the EFF's 23rd Independent Fleet in December U.C. 0079. It was captained by Lt. Col. Yaroslav.
- Ingostadt
- Appeared in the manga Char's Deleted Affair: Portrait of Young Comet, the Ingostadt was dispatched from Axis to inspect the Republic of Zeon and was captained by Col. Char Aznable. Known as a modified Zanzibar-class, the Ingostadt was refitted with additional boosters and propellant tanks to make the journey between Axis and the Earth within five months.
- Sangre Azul
- Appeared in the manga MSV-R: The Return of Johnny Ridden, the Sangre Azul was a blue Zanzibar cruiser originally belonged to the Zeon's elite Chimera Corps. After the One Year War, it was hidden in Jaburo by the former EFF Colonel-turn-politician Oxner Cliff and former Chimera Corps's Cpt. Jacobius Node. The Sangre Azul was the only ship that was equipped with a route search system for the Minaret, a manufacturing plant ship for mobile suits that orbited space autonomously without any crew.
- Tempest
- Appeared in the video game Gundam: The Return of Zeon, Tempest was the flagship of the 32nd Independent Battalion "Desert Liner" of the Neo Zeon's African Army in U.C. 0090, it was captained by Maj. Gen. Richie Clapton.
- Vampire
- Appeared in the video game Gundam: The Return of Zeon, Vampire was the flagship of the 19th Regiment of the Neo-Zeon's African Army, it was captained by Maj. Gen. Carl Johansson.
- Cerberus
- Appeared in the video game Gundam: The Return of Zeon, Cerberus was the flagship of the 33rd Independent Battalion "Night Shade" of the African Front, it was captained by Lt. Gen. Okis Lezarye.
- Dresden
- Appeared in the computer game Gundam: Advanvced Operation, Dresden was the flagship of the Neo Zeon's 31st MS Drop Battalion in B-zone. While en route to a landing point on Earth to support the remaining Neo Zeon forces in the Eastern front, it received orders from Serrana Karn, Neo Zeon's foreign secretary, to pursue the Komusai, and descended to the ground.
- Keraunos
- Appeared in the light novel Advance of Zeta: The Traitor to Destiny, the Keraunos suffered moderate damage in Solomon during the One Year War. Subsequently it was salvaged, repaired, and tested by the EFF before being transferred to the anti-Titans organization Keraunos by its sponsor. The original Keraunos's bow bridge had been given a bridge structure, the main verniers had been split into two from the center, and the original space was now used to store mobile suits. It was captained by Keraunos's leader Volker Merckx.
History[]
The Zanzibar-class was a Zeon battleship that was introduced during the One Year War as a multi-environment cruiser and mobile suit carrier. During the early stage of Zeon's Earth Invasion campaign, Zanzibar cruisers were utilized to protect the landing units at the time of Zeon Army's landing operations.[10]
Despite being produced in limited numbers, the Zanzibar-class were deployed in several important operations, most notably the Ragnarök was placed under command of Col. Char Aznable during his pursuit of the Earth Federation ship White Base.[2] Another important function for the Zanzibar-class was to serve as escape vessels for Zeon forces on Earth after Operation Odessa.[7][15] Some were even used as flagships by high ranking Zeon officials such as Maj. Gen. Kycilia Zabi when battleships such as Chivvay-class or Gwazine-class were unavailable or ill-suited for the role. Perhaps the most creative use of a Zanzibar-class ship was in the South-East Asia campaign, when Tech. Maj. Gen. Ginias Sahalin used the CCM-84 Kerguelen as a power plant for his Southeast Asia base.[11] The Kerguelen was later used as a medical evacuation ship for thousands of wounded Zeon soldiers until it was destroyed by a GM Sniper following Ginias's unprovoked attack on the EFF during a declared ceasefire meant to allow the ship to safely escape.[12]
Another Zanzibar cruiser, the Sangre Azul, was used by Zeon's elite Chimera Corps, which was equipped with the computing system "Delphi" allowing it to estimate the travel coordinates of the concealed plant ship "Minaret", a giant space-based plant ship housing Astaroth, a devastating bioweapon. The Sangre Azul was captured by the EFF at the end of the One Year War and was concealed in Jaburo, where it was maintained in operable condition until U.C. 0090, when it was launched in Space to avoid being use by Federation and Zeon Remnants' conspiracy.
Near the end of the One Year War, Zeon launched its United Maintenance Plan in an attempt to optimize the performance of existing machines while streamlining construction to keep construction and maintenance cost at a minimum. The Zanzibar-class was one of the ship classes put through the Plan, leading to the development of the Zanzibar II-class mobile cruiser. Meanwhile, some of the existing Zanzibar-class cruisers which survived the One Year War underwent extensive repairs and modification including improved atmospheric cruising range, more durable armors, and featured armaments stolen from the EFFs, resulting in a limited number of Zanzibar cruisers which were still in top condition when they were used by the Neo Zeon Armed Forces in late U.C. 0080's.[16]
Descendants[]
- CCM-91 Chimaira
- Zanzibar II-class
- Zanzibar-class Task Force Battle Cruiser (Keraunos)
- Zanzibar-class Interplanetary Type (Ingolstadt)
Gallery[]
Lineart[]
Anime[]
Mobile Suit Gundam[]
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.png "Zanzibar-Class Mega Particle Guns Firing 01 (MSG Ep31).png (3.25 MB)")
Mobile Suit Gundam I[]
Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow[]
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team[]
Manga[]
CDA: Portrait of Young Comet[]
MSV-R: The Return of Johnny Ridden[]
Games[]
Zeonic Front: Indignation of Zeon[]
Mobile Suit Gundam: Advanced Operation[]
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Return of Zeon[]
Others[]
Fanart & Fanzines[]
Sora Special: Principality of Zeon's Combat Ships 3 (2011)[]
Gunpla[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- The Zanzibar-class cruiser was named after the eponymous archipelago in East Africa.
- The Zanzibar cruiser Madagascar was named after the eponymous large island in Southern Africa.
- The Zanzibar cruiser CCM-84 Kerguelen was named after the eponymous archipelgo in the sub-Antarctic region.
- The Zanzibar cruiser Ragnarök was named after the eponymous foretold series of impending catastrophic events in Norse mythology.
- The Zanzibar experimental ship Lemuria was named after a eponymous continent proposed in the 19th century, theorized to have sunk beneath the Indian Ocean.
- The Zanzibar cruiser Anastasia was named after Anastasia, a feminine given name of Greek origin, meaning "resurrection".
- The Zanzibar cruiser Dresden was named after the eponymous city in Saxony, Germany.
- The modified Zanzibar cruiser Ingostadt was named after the eponymous city in Upper Bavaria, Germany.
- The name of the Zanzibar cruiser Sangre Azul means "blue blood" or "noblemen" in Spanish.
- The name of the Zanzibar cruiser Keraunos means "thunderbolt" in Greek.
- In the "Amuro Char Mode 0079" segment of the smartphone game Mobile Suit Gundam U.C. ENGAGE, Char Aznable's Zanzibar cruiser Ragnarok featured an MS catapult similar to the Zanzibar II-class cruiser CCM-87 Lili Marlene, and was equipped with a customized Rick Dom for Char's testing.
- In the ONA Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance, the Zanzibar did not make an appearance but was mentioned near the end of episode 6 that a remaining vessel was available for the Zeon's defense force at Odessa to escape after all HLVs had been launched into Space.[15]
- The Zanzibar cruisers depicted in the computer game Gundam: The Return of Zeon (RoZ) closely resemble to those of Zanzibar II-class. However, its mechanic setting from the official game data book states that they were repaired and modified from the Zanzibar-class cruisers used in One Year War, plus their weapons were utilized from stolen EFF arsenals indicates these are modified Zanzibar-class post-0079 instead of the original Zanzibar II-class manufactured near the end of One Year War. Therefore, the three Neo Zeon cruisers in RoZ - Tempest, Vampire, and Cerberus - are classified as Zanzibar-class.
- In the strategy game series Gihren's Greed, the Zanzibar-class is one of the most expensive vessels the Zeon forces can build, but on the other hand it is arguably the most useful as well. As it can enter the Earth's atmosphere independently, it can be used to spearhead land-drop operations and function as a supplier for the mobile suit forces (as opposed to relying solely on HLVs which, in addition to being defenseless, do not resupply units).
Appearances[]
- Television Series
- Mobile Suit Gundam
- Episode 12, The Threat of Zeon
- Episode 34, A Fateful Encounter
- Episode 35, The Glory of Solomon
- Episode 31, A Decoy in Space
- OVAs and ONAs
- Mobile Suit Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance
- Episode 6, Convoy to Oblivion
- Mentioned only
- Episode 6, Convoy to Oblivion
- Games
References[]
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Return of Zeon[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mobile Suit Gundam Episode 12, The Threat of Zeon
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mobile Suit Gundam Episode 31, A Decoy in Space
- ↑ (April 2010) データガンダム キャラクター列伝 宇宙世紀編 I (in Japanese). 角川書店, 81. ISBN 9784047154452.
- ↑ (November 1999) 機動戦士ガンダム MSV コレクションファイル [宇宙編] (in Japanese). 講談社, 62. ISBN 9784063465501.
- ↑ (May 2007) 機動戦士ガンダム 一年戦争全史 U.C.0079-0080 (下) (in Japanese). GAKKEN, 92. ISBN 9784056046144.
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam Episode 24, Black Tri-Star
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Mobile Suit Gundam Episode 25, The Battle of Odessa
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam Episode 41, A Cosmic Glow
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Mobile Suit Gundam Episode 43, Escape
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 (June 2000) 機動戦士ガンダム MSV コレクションファイル [地球編] (in Japanese). 講談社, 121. ISBN 9784063465518.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team Episode 8, Duty and Ideals
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team Episode 11, The Shuddering Mountain, Part 2
- ↑ (June 1984) Bandai Mechanical File for 1/144 MSV MS-06Z Psycommu System Zaku Ziong Test Base model kit (in Japanese). バンダイ, Pg4.
- ↑ MS-06Z Psycommu System Zaku's profile on Official Tamashiiweb's MS開発秘録: ROBOT魂 ver. A.N.I.M.E. DATA FILE (Japanese)
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Mobile Suit Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance Episode 6, Convoy to Oblivion
- ↑ (April 1993) 機動戦士ガンダム リターン・オブ・ジオン データブック (in Japanese). ファミリーソフト, 43.
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| Requiem for Vengeance Mechanics | |
|---|---|
| edit | |
| Principality of Zeon | |
| Mobile Weapon | |
| Mobile Suit MS-05A Zaku I | MS-06F Zaku II F Type | MS-06Rb-a Zaku II Unidentified Type (Solari) | MS-06Rb-b Zaku II Unidentified Type (LeSean) | MS-06V Zaku Tank | MS-07B-3 Gouf Custom | |
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| |
| Land Vehicle Armored Vehicle | Magella Attack | Russel 1/12 Zebu | Jeep | Samson | |
| Aircraft / Spacecraft Dopp | HLV | PVN.4/3 Wappa | |
| Cruiser / Mother Ship Gaw | Musai-class | Zanzibar-class | |
| Earth Federation Forces | |
| Mobile Weapon | |
| Mobile Suit RGM-79 GM | RTX-440-B Ground Assault Type Guntank Type B | RX-78(G)E Gundam EX | |
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| |
| Land Vehicle M61A5 MBT | Armored Personnel Carrier | Trailer | Fuel Truck | Sidecar | 4 1/2t 6x6 Cargo Truck | |
| Aircraft / Spacecraft FF-S3 Saberfish | |
| UMRC | |
| Land Vehicle Truck | |