MSM-07Di Ze'Gok – MechaBay | Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO

The MSM-07Di Ze’Gok was an amphibious atmospheric attack mobile suit developed by the Principality of Zeon for high-altitude diving attacks.

The “MS” in the model code meant it was a mobile suit, while the “M” identified it as an amphibious model. The “07” indicated that it was the seventh design in the line, while “Di” stood for “Dive,” reflecting its specialised atmospheric attack capability.

History

The MSM-07Di Ze’Gok was an unusual development of the MSM-07 Z’Gok. While the Z’Gok was an amphibious unit that functions in the water, the Ze’Gok was designed to “dive” through the atmosphere to conduct high-altitude attacks on the Earth Federation Forces headquarters in Jaburo.

In December UC 0079, the Ze’Gok and pilot Werner Holbein were assigned to the 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit on the Jotunheim following the destruction of its sister ship Muspelheim. The Ze’Gok was deployed as part of Zeon’s desperate attempts to find new weapons against the advancing Federation forces as they began losing ground on Earth.

Werner Holbein was assigned to pilot the mobile diver unit as part of the 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit’s mission to infiltrate Federation airspace and attack warships launching from Jaburo. The unit conducted three test drops against Federation forces. On the first mission, Holbein approached Jaburo’s airspace and engaged a Salamis-class cruiser but failed to achieve any hits with his missiles. The second mission, conducted at night with co-pilot Hideto Washiya, also ended in failure when rocket attacks fell short of their targets.

On the third and final mission, the Ze’Gok was equipped with the Kuhblume scattering beam cannon. Holbein successfully destroyed five Federation ships—four Salamis cruisers and one Magellan-class battleship—as they launched from Jaburo. However, while returning to the pickup point, two FF-X7-Bst-II Core Booster II Intercept Types shot down both the Ze’Gok and the retrieving Gaw carrier, killing Holbein in the process.

With the shift of the battlefield to space shortly afterward, the Ze’Gok project was scrapped. During Operation Stardust, a Ze’Gok equipped with LWC Type A was deployed by Zeon Remnants over Jaburo and attacked the 3rd Earth Orbital Fleet of the Earth Federation Space Force as they were launching to stop the colony drop.

Design

The Ze’Gok was created to serve as the control and mobility unit of the Mobile Diver System (MDS), a special weapon designed to enter the atmosphere from satellite orbit and carry out surprise attacks against enemies on the ground, sea, and air. The system also included a Logistics Weapon Container (LWC) for mass weapon transport.

The control and mobility unit was originally meant to be a dedicated machine, but as the plan was brought ahead of schedule, the Z’Gok was used instead. It was easy to retrofit the amphibious Z’Gok into a control and mobility unit as it already had thermonuclear hybrid engines for both aquatic and atmospheric use, and its various parts are connected by pressure-resistant joints.

The body of Ze’Gok is fitted with boosters, propellant tanks as well as pylons for attaching the LWC and the high propulsive power Dive Maneuver Unit. Its right arm is fitted with a sensor unit in place of the original Z’Gok’s mega particle cannon. The mobile suit featured a two-seater cockpit, with the rear seat capable of fire control through an attached monitor.

After conducting its attack, the Ze’Gok was to dive into the ocean and wait for a pick up by a Gaw for its eventual return to space. This reflected the unit’s design philosophy of being a disposable weapon system where only the pilot would return to space after mission completion.

Armaments

The Ze’Gok’s armaments were divided between its inherent weapons from the base Z’Gok design and the modular Logistics Weapon Containers that provided mission-specific firepower.

Mega particle cannon

The left arm of the Ze’Gok houses a mega particle cannon retained from the original Z’Gok, which is powered directly from the mobile suit’s reactor. This weapon served as the unit’s primary defensive armament and could be used to engage nearby threats or destroy remaining parts of weapon containers after their ammunition was expended.

240 mm missile launchers

The Ze’Gok retains head-mounted missile launcher from the original Z’Gok, which contains a total of six launchers for a maximum of 30 missiles. Whereas Z’Gok’s missiles can be versatile (sea-to-surface or surface-to-surface), Ze’Gok’s are restricted to air-to-air attack due to its specialized role.

Iron nail

Mounted on the ends of the left arm, the Ze’Gok retains the iron nails which are the original Z’Gok’s close-combat weapons. These served as backup melee weapons, though the Ze’Gok was not intended for close combat.

Targeting antenna arm

For Ze’Gok, the original Z’Gok’s mega particle cannon/iron nail right arm is replaced with a targeting antenna arm with a retractable sensor unit. Whenever the LWC is activated, the folded antenna arm will swing forward with sensor unit fully extended to collect communication data for LWC’s precision targeting.

Logistics Weapon Container Type A

A 73.7m long, 17.7m wide and 20.3m tall container that can carry payload of 540~670 metric tons. the LWC Type A can hold a total of 4 cruise missiles, each 60 meters in length. These large-sized, mid-range air-to-air missiles are capable of destroying Federation’s Salamis-class cruisers.

Alternatively, the LWC Type A can be reconfigured to be armed with a total of 4 large rocket pods for close-to-mid range air support, with each pod contains a total of 28 unguided, fin-stabilized rockets. Compare to cruise missiles, the rocket’s relatively weak destruction power is more than made up with a rapidly-fired volley for inflicting large-scale damage.

Logistics Weapon Container Type B

A 73.9m long, 22m wide and 18.2m tall container that can carry payload of 1189 metric tons. It is fitted with the scattering beam cannon unit “Kuhblume”, which is designed specifically for Mobile Diver System operations. The Kuhblume was capable of destroying multiple targets simultaneously with its wide-area beam attack.

Known pilots

Werner Holbein
Hideto Washiya (co-pilot)

Behind the scenes

Yamane Kimitoshi was the original mechanical designer.

Appearances

Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: Apocalypse 0079

External links

MSM-07Di Ze’Gok on the Gundam Wiki
MSM-07Di Ze’Gok on MAHQ