Papua-class
Supply ship produced by the Principality of Zeon.
The Papua-class was a line of supply ships produced by the Principality of Zeon for its space fleet. It was one of Zeon’s first space vessel designs and served as the mainstay of its supply fleet throughout the One Year War.
History
The Principality of Zeon developed the Papua-class as part of its aggressive militarisation programme in preparation for war with the Earth Federation. The class became the backbone of Zeon’s logistics fleet, with each ship capable of independently resupplying two Musai-class light cruisers on the front lines.
During the first Zeon descent operation of the One Year War, Papua-class vessels served as primary carriers for the drop troops. They launched waves of Heavy Lift Vehicles carrying Zeon mobile suits while Musai-class cruisers engaged the Federation fleet.
A notable ship of the line was commanded by Captain Gadem in September UC 0079. While attempting to resupply Char Aznable’s flagship, the vessel was discovered by the White Base. In the ensuing battle against the RX-78-2 Gundam and FF-X7 Core Fighter, both Gadem and his ship were destroyed.
The Dried Fish served as the flagship and mobile suit carrier of Zeon’s Living Dead Division. It was temporarily captured by the Moore Brotherhood before being reclaimed by Zeon forces.
Several Papua-class ships participated in the Battle of A Baoa Qu, providing critical resupply operations during the intense fighting. The class was eventually phased out in favor of the more advanced Pazock-class transport ships.
Design
The Papua-class was designed for independent supply missions to the front lines. Each ship could carry enough supplies and ammunition to resupply two Musai-class light cruisers.
The vessels typically operated with an attached Gattle squadron for defence. Some ships also carried an MS-05B Zaku I to assist with loading operations and provide additional protection.
The ships had two launch catapults for deploying mobile suits and fighters. They were powered by two thermonuclear rocket engines.
Armaments
The Papua-class ships relied primarily on machine gun turrets for defence.
Machine guns
Multiple machine gun turrets were mounted across the hull in both dual-barrel external mounts and quad-barrel ball turret configurations. These weapons provided anti-aircraft and anti-mobile suit defence, though they were ineffective against enemy warships.
Early in the One Year War, when the Federation lacked mobile suit capabilities, the combination of machine guns and escort Gattle fighters provided adequate protection for the supply ships.
Ships and captains
- Unnamed ship captained by Gadem
- Unnamed ship captained by Burroughs
Behind the scenes
Okawara Kunio was the original mechanical designer for the Mobile Suit Gundam version. Katoki Hajime designed the version seen in Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO.
Variants
Appearances
- Mobile Suit Gundam
- Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
- Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space
- Mobile Suit Gundam: Lost War Chronicles
- Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War
- Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2: The Gravity Front
- Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 603
External links
- Papua-class on the Gundam Wiki
- Papua-class on MAHQ