Gwazine-class

The Gwazine-class was a line of space battleships produced by the Principality of Zeon during the One Year War. They were the most powerful warships of their time, surpassing even the Earth Federation’s Magellan-class and Pegasus-class vessels in combat capability.

History

The Principality of Zeon began producing the Gwazine-class battleships in March UC 0076 as part of their military buildup before the One Year War. Due to their high production and maintenance costs, these ships were typically reserved as command vessels for high-ranking officers and members of the Zabi family.

Several Gwazine-class ships participated in major fleet battles throughout the war. At least two ships took part in the Battle of Loum. The Great Degwin, which served as the personal flagship of Sovereign Degwin Sodo Zabi, was destroyed by friendly fire when Gihren Zabi fired the Solar Ray during peace negotiations with the Federation.

Multiple Gwazine-class vessels were deployed during the Battle of A Baoa Qu. Only two ships were known to survive the battle. The first, the Gwaden, served as the flagship of Captain Aiguille Delaz. After learning of Gihren Zabi’s death, Delaz ordered his fleet to withdraw. This group later became known as the Delaz Fleet. The Gwaden remained active until UC 0083, when it was destroyed during Operation Stardust.

The second surviving ship was used by Zenna Zabi and Mineva Lao Zabi to escape Federation forces under the protection of Char Aznable. This vessel successfully reached Axis.

Axis later developed the Gwazine-class design into the Gwadan-class and Gwanban-class battleships.

Design

The Gwazine-class battleships were designed as powerful command ships capable of both independent operation and fleet coordination. With a length of 440 meters and a maximum weight of 108,100 metric tons, they were among the largest warships of their era, second only to the Dolos-class heavy carriers.

The ships could traverse vast distances, including Earth to the asteroid belt. To compensate for their high fuel consumption, they were equipped with eight external fuel tanks mounted on the stern.

The vessels used a Minovsky-Ionesco fusion reactor as their power plant, providing energy for propulsion and weapons. Eight thermonuclear rocket engines provided main thrust.

Armaments

The Gwazine-class battleships carried a formidable array of weapons for both ship-to-ship combat and anti-aircraft defense.

2-barrel main guns

Three twin main gun turrets were mounted along the dorsal hull. These large mega particle cannons were among the most powerful ship-mounted weapons during the One Year War. Each turret could rotate 90 degrees to port or starboard from its forward position.

2-barrel secondary guns

Ten twin secondary gun turrets were mounted along the sides of the ship, with five on each hull. While slightly smaller than those used on the Musai-class, their greater numbers provided superior firepower. These guns could elevate and depress but could only fire to their respective sides.

155 mm machine guns

Multiple 155 mm twin machine gun turrets provided anti-aircraft and anti-mobile suit defense. Unlike the energy weapons, these conventional weapons offered a high rate of fire but shorter range and less power against heavily armored targets.

Mobile weapons

The Gwazine-class featured extensive mobile suit facilities, with hangars capable of accommodating up to twenty mobile suits—more than triple the capacity of Federation vessels. These units were stored in a large cargo bay beneath the ship.

Ships and captains

• Great Degwin captained by Degwin Sodo Zabi
• Gwaden captaiend by Aiguille Delaz
• Gwaran, unknown captain
• Gwamel, unknown captain
• Gwarib, unknown captain
• BB-38 Gwazine, unknown captain
• Asarum, unknown captain

Behind the scenes

Tomino Yoshiyuki was the principal mechanical designer for the original Mobile Suit Gundam version, with Okawara Kunio assisting with design cleanup. Katoki Hajime designed the version seen in Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO.

Variants

• Gwadan-class
• Gwanban-class
• Rewloola-class

External links

• Gwazine-class on the Gundam Wiki
• Gwazine-class on MAHQ