The Public-class was a line of assault carriers produced by the Earth Federation.
History
In the aftermath of the One Week War with the Principality of Zeon in early UC 0079, the Earth Federation realised that they did not have the capabilities to retaliate in a space war.
Public-class assault carrier from Mobile Suit Gundam
The Public-class assault ships were designed to strike larger, less mobile targets during a space battle. The ships were deployed in the battle of Solomon with beam dispersion smoke to allow Federation forces to close in on the space fortress. They were employed in a similar tactic during the battle of A Baoa Qu to less success.
Design
Caught on the back foot when the One Year War broke out, the Earth Federation needed to respond to the threat of the mobile suits used by the Principality of Zeon. The Federation developed the Public-class assault carriers to bolster their fleets.
Public-class assault carrier
The Public-class ships were fast but their maneuverability was no match for that of mobile suits. They were also poorly armoured. Hence, they were used mainly to attack less mobile enemy vessels to maximise the damage they can do with their speed and heavy firepower.
Armaments
The assault carriers were usually equipped with missiles capable of taking out capital ships. In some missions, these missiles were replaced with beam dispersion smoke missiles to help protect Federation forces from beam bombardment.
Behind the scenes
Kunio Okawara was the original mechanical designer