RX-75 Guntank

The RX-75 Guntank is a fictional weapon from the mecha anime "Mobile Suit Gundam".

The RX-75 Guntank was the first prototype mobile suit developed in the Earth Federation's Project V. However, the Guntank hardly qualified at all as a mobile suit, which generally referred to bipedal machines. The Guntank had the torso and arms of a mobile suit, but possessed a tank-like base with tracks. It also lacked the humanoid manipulator hands and had a canopy-style cockpit on the head, along with the cockpit in the torso. Like all Project V prototypes, the Guntank's design incorporate the Core Block System.

The RX-75 Guntank was developed when the first rumors of the Principality of Zeon's mobile suits reached the Federation. The Guntank was designed as a long-range anti-mobile suit and artillery support unit. Although its performance in this role fell below expectations, it did pack a heavy punch. Its main weapons were twin 180mm recoilless cannons, which were capable of both effective direct and indirect fires at both long and medium ranges. The Guntank's two arms ended in four-barrel missile launchers instead of manipulator hands. These weapons provided good cover fire against enemy tanks and aircraft but less effective against enemy mobile suits at close range.

Guntank, along with Gundam has great cultural influence in Japan. The rescue robot "T-52 Enryu"(援竜) [http://www.tmsuk.co.jp/lineup/t53_enryu/index.html (official link of newer model T-53)] created by "Tmsuk" [http://www.tmsuk.co.jp/english/robots.html (official page)] for the Japanese fire department is quoted to be "Guntank(?)'s huge rescue robot" by "My commu journal". [ [http://journal.mycom.co.jp/news/2004/03/25/002.html original script] ]

RX-75-4 Guntank

On Side 7, only one unit, the RX-75-4 Guntank, survived the Zeon Zaku attack. This remaining prototype made its way to the "Pegasus"-class assault cruiser "White Base". The Guntank design fought alongside the RX-77-2 Guncannon and the RX-78-2 Gundam, but it was easily outclassed due to the close-range nature of warfare under Minovsky interference. However, after the death of the Guntank pilot Ryu Jose, the mobile suit was upgraded to be used by a single pilot in the canopy-style cockpit, and continued to be piloted by Hayato Kobayashi. The RX-75-4 Guntank was finally decommissioned at the Federation's General Headquarters at Jaburo, South America in November UC 0079 having served admirably in its short service.

In the original Mobile Suit Gundam TV anime, the RX-75-4 Guntank was "not" decommissioned at Jaburo but continued service on board the "White Base" until it was destroyed at the Zeon space fortress A Baoa Qu. The discrepancy between the two versions of events exists because the Guntank was seen more as a 'super robot' genre mecha than the 'real robot' genre mecha that the series was aiming for. The movie version of events is considered more canonical, as it reflects the latest version of Tomino's vision.

The RX-75-4 Guntank first appear in "Mobile Suit Gundam", design by Kunio Okawara.

The RX-75 Guntank was given a new look to make it more realistic in the "origin" manga. changes from the animated 1979 guntank include a shorter torso, and the open area between the driver's cockpit and the gunner's cockpit suggests that this Guntank does not utilize the FF-X7 Core Fighter used by the original.

Variants

RX-75 Guntank Mass-Production Type

A mass production model of Guntank was produced later in the war, designated RX-75 Guntank Mass-Production Type. The Mass-production Type abandoned the Core Block system to cut costs; the new model could also swivel its upper torso. The original Guntank's 180mm cannons were replaced with smaller 120mm cannons; these cannons could be removed and replaced with other appendages. Some of these mass-produced Guntanks were equipped with a foward bulldozer mounted on the front glacis plate and crane for recovery work. It was proven to be a highly efficient artillery support unit in the later phase of the One Year War. It first appeared in "".

RMV-1 Guntank II

After the One Year War, the development of Guntanks continued, resulting in the RMV-1 Guntank II, which was even more tank-like (and less mobile suit-like) than its predecessors. A pair of recoilless 120mm cannon mounted on its head turret gave it wider firing arcs than previous Guntank models. The new torso was capable of independently rotating, so the arms were replaced with rocket and missile launchers. The new Guntank was designed in every way as a vehicle for ground combat. Some Japanese reference material classifies the Guntank II as a "mobile vehicle" instead of a "mobile suit", hence the RMV code in its model number. This model of Guntank stays in service up to the Gryps conflict of Zeta Gundam where they can be seen among other MSV units defending Jaburo from the AEUG forces.

"RMV-1 Guntank II" first appear as part of Mobile Suit Variations and design by Kunio Okawara.

F50D (RXR-44) Guntank R-44

The last "Guntank" model fielded is the F-50D Guntank R-44, a rejected prototype that transforms in to a usable mobile suit mode. It appears in the 1991 movie "Gundam F91", and was under the ownership of Frontier IV war museum curator Jung Roy, who acquired the machine into his collection at the age of 44 and re-numbered it RXR-44. When Crossbone Vanguard invaded Frontier IV in U.C.0123, Roy, along with several other civilians, launched out in his prized R-44 into battle in a valiant but foolhardy act of resistance. The R-44 was later destroyed when an injured Seabook Arno attempted to ram the tank into Dorel Ronah's XM-04 Berga Dalas, who in turn stabbed the tank with his shot lancer and caused it to crash against a wall.

The R-44's design was incorporated from an earlier transformable mobile suit, ECOAS's D-50C Loto, as seen in the new 2007 novel "Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn"

Guntank for Newtype

Appeared in Gundam Ace only.

pecifications

RX-75-4 Guntank

Manufacturer: Earth Federation Forces "Project V"
Operator: Earth Federation Forces
Unit type: prototype artillery mobile suit
Dimensions: overall height 15.6 meters; head height 15.0 meters
Weight: empty 56.0 metric tons; max gross 80.0 metric tons
Construction: Luna Titanium
Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 878 kW
Armament: 2 x 180mm cannon, fire-linked, 30 round magazine each, mounted over shoulders; 2 x 4-tube 40mm rocket launcher, mounted on arms
Pilot(s): Ryu Jose, Hayato Kobayashi, Kai Shiden, Amuro Ray

RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type

Manufacturer: Earth Federation Forces
Operator: Earth Federation Forces
Unit type: artillery mobile suit
Dimensions: overall height 15.6 meters; head height 15.0 meters
Weight: empty 56.0 metric tons; max gross 80.0 metric tons
Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 878 kW
Armament: 2 x 120mm cannon, fire-linked, mounted on backpack over shoulders; 2 x 4-barrel machine gun, mounted on arms

RMV-1 Guntank II

Manufacturer: Earth Federation Forces
Operator: Earth Federation Forces
Unit type: powered artillery mobile suit
Dimensions: overall height 16.9 meters; head height 15.2 meters
Weight: empty 98.4 metric tons; max gross 123.7 metric tons
Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 211 kW
Armament: 2 x 120mm recoilless cannon, mounted on head turret; 4-tube rocket pod, mounted on right side of main body; 3-tube missile launcher, mounted on left side of main body; 80mm machine gun, mounted in drive base; 2 x 2-tube smoke discharger, mounted on drive base

F-50D (RXR-44) Guntank R-44

Manufacturer: Anaheim Electronics
Operator: Earth Federation Forces, civilians
Unit type: prototype transformable mobile suit
Dimensions: head height 10.3 meters in mobile suit mode
Weight: empty 8.7 metric tons; max gross 11.8 metric tons
Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 1050 kW
Propulsion: 2 x engine-driven caterpillar treads, operable in tank mode only; rocket thrusters: 14000 kg; vernier thrusters/apogee motors x 28
Performance: maximum thruster acceleration 1.19 G
Armaments: 2 x 200mm cannon, optional fire-link, mounted on backpack over shoulders; 2 x 4-tube missile pod, mounted on forearms; 10 x finger launcher gun, mounted as fingers in hands
Pilots: Roy Jung, Chris, Robar, Seabook Arno

References