South Burning

Infobox animanga character
name = South Burning
series = Mobile Suit Gundam


caption = South Burning in U.C. 0083
first =
last =
creator =
voiced by = Masashi Sugawara (Japanese)
George C. Cole (English)
alias =
age = 33
born = U.C. 0050
death = U.C. 0083
nationality = Earth Federation
relatives = Sylvia Burning (wife, divorced)
divider = yes
aux1 name = Allegiance
aux1 = E.F.S.F
aux2 name = Rank
aux2 = Lieutenant
aux3 name = Mobile weapons
aux3 = RGM-79C GM Kai
RGM-79N GM Custom

nihongo|South Burning|サウス・バニング|Sausu Baningu was a Federation pilot who served in the Earth Federation Forces as the commander of the "Immortal 04th MS Team" during the One Year War, in the fictional Gundam Universe. As the senior pilot at the Federation's Torrington base, Burning supervises the testing of new equipment and acts a mentor to the inexperienced Kou Uraki and Chuck Keith.

During Operation Stardust (depicted in '), Lieutenant South Burning was the commander of the "Burning Team" assigned to the "Albion" which included former co-pilots from his "Immortal 4th Team": Bernard Monsha, Alpha A. Bate, and Chap Adel. He was named "Albions mobile suit "combat tactician".

Mobile Suit Gundam: Stardust Memory

Attack on Torrington Base

Prior to the arrival of the "Albion" (MSC-07) and the early events of Operation Stardust, South Burning was the leading commander dedicated to train potential candidates and test developed equipment for the Gundam Development Project. One of these tests consisted of a simulated battle between a Powered GM and two MS-06F2 Zaku IIs, with the objective of gathering more data on the Powered GM's abilities. At the end of the day; Burning and the rest of his team arrived at the Torrington Base to watch the arrival of the "Albion" and the two Gundams at the Federal Base.

During the theft of RX-78GP02A, Burning's team was the first one to launch, suffering the loss of one MS-06F2 Zaku II at the hands of a MS-09F Dom Tropen, as well as the Powered GM. Despite this initial setback, and with Kou Uraki in command of the RX-78GP01, Burning and the rest of his team attempted to chase and capture Anavel Gato.

Even though Burning's team managed to defuse Gato's attempt to escape by boarding a Komusai II, they were forced to fight the remnants of the Principality's Army. During the subsequent fight, Burning fought and defeated a YMS-16M Xamel with his RGM-79C GM Kai, suffering severe injuries—a broken arm and leg, as well as skull damage. His team also suffered the loss of a Powered GM and one more MS-06F2 Zaku II.

Hunt for the RX-78GP02A

After the battle, Burning is hospitalized, receiving the visit of fellow pilots in Torrington. With the "Albion" in charge of retrieving the RX-78GP02A, Burning was assigned by Captain Eiphar Synapse as the new Combat Tactician of the ship, with full authority regarding the Mobile Suits. As such, Burning assigned Kou Uraki as the official RX-78GP01 pilot.

The "Albion" departed from Torrington and arrived in Africa on 16 October, U.C 0083. One week later, after Burning discovered a spy inside the "Albion", they succeeded in locating the stolen RX-78GP02A. In the subsequent battle against Principality’s remnants, Burning and his team failed once again to capture the stolen Gundam. The fight continued in space, with General Kowen assigning two "Salamis"-class cruisers to assist them.

This time, the Cima's Fleet flagship "Lili Marleen" engaged the "Albion" and Burning's Team. Uraki disobeyed direct orders and used the RX-78GP01 for combat instead of his RGM-79N GM Custom, despite the GP-01's lack of proper space operations programming and equipment. Burning, aware of the dangerous situation, ripped his cast off and went to save Kou in his own RGM-79N GM Custom and fought against Cima Garahau's MS-14F Gelgoog.

During the battle, Burning tells Uraki to just eject and forget about the RX-78GP01. Despite this, Uraki still managed to reach the "Albion" and crash inside the hangar. The battle ended with the RX-78GP01 severely damaged and the loss of the two Salamis-Class Cruiser.

Lt. Burning was killed in action when the "Albion" became involved in a battle with Zeon mobile suits attached to the "Lili Marleen". Burning destroyed two Gelgoog Marines and came across a destroyed Musai. In the midst of the battle, Burning left his GM and discovered a briefcase. Upon returning to his MS, he encountered Cima Garahau and fended her off, taking light damage. As he was returning to the Albion, he discovered that the contents of the briefcase revealed the entire plan for Operation Stardust.

However, before he could inform his squad about the discovery or return to the "Albion", an internal explosion occurred due to damage sustained from Cima's attack, and Burning was instantly killed. It was also revealed that he had a wife back at home.

Notes

* Burning was considered a skilled mobile suit pilot, and served as a mentor to Kou Uraki and Keith, but he began to slow down due to his age. Burning repeatedly fought against his growing limitations, considering his age to be "a matter of the mind".
* Some sources claim Burning was quite the playboy, and his team was also known as the Immoral 4th MS team.Fact|date=February 2007
* In the "Super Robot Wars" series of games, Burning appears as a pilot. He also acts as a senior pilot, alongside other aces such as Amuro Ray, and Roy Focker from "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross". He is one of the best non-Newtype MS pilots available in most of his appearances and helps keep younger pilots (and occasionally other senior pilots) in line.
* According the arcade game, "Spirits of Zeon", South Burning's mobile suit was the RGM-79SP2 GM Sniper Custom II during the OYW. The PlayStation 2 video game, "", however, portrays him as piloting a standard RGM-79 GM.