Gattle
Mass-produced fighter-bomber developed by the Principality of Zeon.
The Gattle was a mass-produced fighter-bomber developed by the Principality of Zeon for space combat operations during the One Year War.
History
The Principality of Zeon developed the Gattle as a successor to their earlier Gobble space fighter. It entered service before the widespread deployment of mobile suits and served throughout the One Year War, from the One Week Battle to the Battle of A Baoa Qu.
As Zeon shifted its focus to mobile suit development, the Gattle was gradually phased out of frontline service. However, it continued to serve in defensive operations, particularly around space fortresses and aboard Dolos-class carriers. Its reliable and powerful engines later contributed to the development of the MS-21C Dra-C.
After the war, some Gattle units were converted for civilian use as work boats.
Design
The Gattle featured a twin-cockpit design with separate compartments for the pilot and copilot. These cockpit sections doubled as escape pods, equipped with small rocket thrusters for emergency evacuation.
For manoeuvring in space, the fighter-bomber employed attitude control verniers positioned across its fuselage. While this system provided decent mobility, it was less efficient than the Active Mass Balance Auto Control (AMBAC) system used by mobile suits. This limitation, combined with shorter operational times compared to mobile suits, meant the Gattle was better suited for defensive operations rather than extended combat missions.
Despite these limitations, the Gattle’s powerful thermonuclear rocket engines allowed it to achieve speeds comparable to contemporary mobile suits.
Armaments
The Gattle’s standard weapons were 30 mm vulcan guns for anti-fighter defence and missile launchers for anti-ship combat.
30 mm vulcan guns
Two pairs of 30 mm vulcan guns were mounted beneath each cockpit section. While effective against other fighters and light targets, these rapid-fire weapons had minimal impact against mobile suit armor.
5-tube missile launcher
The Gattle carried a 5-tube missile launcher in the fuselage on either side of the cockpits. These launchers could fire volleys of missiles capable of damaging mobile suits, though their effectiveness was limited by Minovsky particle interference reducing them to line-of-sight weapons.
Large anti-ship missiles
The Gattle could optionally mount two large anti-ship missiles on external hardpoints. These powerful missiles were effective against capital ships and fortifications but significantly reduced the fighter’s manoeuvrability until launched. This made them risky to use when enemy mobile suits were present.
Behind the scenes
Okawara Kunio was the original mechanical designer.
Appearances
- Mobile Suit Gundam
- Mobile Suit Gundam Battlefield Record: Avant-Title