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Gallop-class

Land-based hovercraft transport ship developed by the Principality of Zeon.
Jenxi Seow Published 20 Jan 2015 Updated 9 Feb 2025
Gallop-class

The Gallop-class was a land-based hovercraft transport ship developed by the Principality of Zeon during the One Year War. It emphasized mobility and mobile suit transport capabilities over firepower.

History

The Principality of Zeon developed the Gallop-class as a small land warfare craft that could rapidly deploy mobile suits. One notable Gallop served as the mobile headquarters of Ramba Ral’s unit during their mission to destroy the White Base.

After the ship’s destruction during Ramba Ral’s failed attack, Crowley Hamon escaped in the ejected bridge. She later led another attack on the White Base, mounting three Magella Top tanks on the Gallop’s cargo unit. After equipping it with the Gallop’s spare engine and filling it with explosives, she attempted to ram the cargo unit into the White Base. However, her plan was foiled by the RX-78-2 Gundam.

Design

The Gallop-class featured a box-shaped hull with a front hatch for launching mobile suits, directly connected to the hangar. It utilized a nuclear thermal hover system and jet engines for propulsion, capable of carrying three mobile suits.

The ship had a navigation bridge at the front for non-combat movement, with the crew relocating to combat bridges on either side during battle. These combat bridges also served as escape boats, capable of short-duration flight after ejection.

Two rod antennas on the upper deck and a watchtower with a panoramic bubble canopy provided ballistic observation and enemy detection capabilities. The stern featured a coupler for towing a cargo unit, which could transport supplies or function as a camping trailer for extended operations.

Armaments

The Gallop-class carried defensive weapons for both anti-aircraft and anti-ground combat.

Twin machine gun

A pair of double-barreled machine guns were mounted on each side of the navigation bridge, serving primarily as anti-aircraft and ground defensive weapons.

Twin main gun

The ship’s main armament was a twin gun turret mounted at the rear, designed for long-range ground target engagement but also capable of anti-aircraft fire. Due to its position between the watchtower and engine pods, the turret’s firing arc was limited to approximately 30 degrees left and right of the stern to avoid friendly fire.

Mobile weapons

The Gallop-class could carry up to three mobile suits in its hangar. The front-mounted hatch allowed for rapid deployment of its mobile suit complement.

Ships and captains

  • Unnamed ship captained by Ramba Ral

Behind the scenes

Okawara Kunio was the original mechanical designer.

A variant of the Gallop-class appeared in ∀ Gundam, featuring a similar design but smaller size and lacking the rear-mounted twin main gun.

The design shared similarities with the Lesseps-class land battleship, as both were hover-capable transport units primarily operating in desert environments, manufactured by space-based factions.

Appearances