Dried Fish

The Dried Fish was a Papua-class supply ship that served as the flagship and primary mobile suit carrier of the Principality of Zeon’s Living Dead Division during the One Year War.

History

The Dried Fish was assigned to serve as the flagship of Zeon’s Living Dead Division, a specialised unit composed of disabled soldiers who piloted mobile suits with advanced prosthetic interfaces. Under the command of Captain Burroughs, the ship operated in the Thunderbolt Sector and carried the division’s complement of modified mobile suits.

During the intense fighting in the Thunderbolt Sector, the Dried Fish came under attack from the Earth Federation’s Moore Brotherhood volunteer force. The ship was temporarily captured by the Moore Brotherhood after their own vessel, the Beehive, was damaged in combat. The Moore Brotherhood crew, led by Captain Claudia Peer, took control of the Dried Fish to continue their operations.

However, the Federation forces were forced to surrender the vessel when Zeon reinforcements arrived. During the final stages of the battle, the Dried Fish was severely damaged when Io Fleming in the FA-78 Full Armor Gundam fired directly at the ship’s bridge, killing Captain Burroughs and his crew.

Design

As a Papua-class supply ship, the Dried Fish shared the standard design characteristics of Zeon’s primary logistics vessels. The ship featured large cargo bays and mobile suit hangar facilities, making it suitable for extended operations away from main bases.

The vessel was designed to operate independently and could resupply other Zeon ships in the field. Two launch catapults provided deployment capability for the ship’s mobile suit complement, while multiple machine gun turrets offered defensive capability against enemy mobile suits and fighters.

Mobile weapons complement

The Dried Fish carried the specialised mobile suits of the Living Dead Division, including MS-06R Psycho Zaku units and other modified mobile suits equipped with prosthetic interface systems. The ship also carried conventional mobile suits including MS-06F Zaku II and MS-09R Rick Dom units.

Armaments

The Dried Fish was armed with the standard Papua-class defensive armament consisting of multiple machine gun turrets mounted across the hull. These weapons provided anti-aircraft and anti-mobile suit defence but were ineffective against enemy warships.

Known crew

Captain Burroughs - commanding officer
Karla Mitchum - scientist and researcher
Sean Mitadera - mobile suit pilot
Daryl Lorenz - mobile suit pilot
Fisher Ness - mobile suit pilot

Behind the scenes

The Dried Fish was designed by Yasuo Ohtagaki for the Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt manga and was adapted for the anime series. The ship’s name reflects the grim nature of the Living Dead Division and their desperate circumstances during the war.

Appearances

Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt (manga)
Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt (ONA)
Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky