Ra Cailum

The Ra Cailum was the lead ship of the Ra Cailum-class battleship and served as the flagship of the Londo Bell task force under Captain Bright Noa. The vessel played pivotal roles in both the Second Neo Zeon War and the Laplace Incident, establishing itself as one of the most famous warships in the Universal Century.

History

Formation of Londo Bell

Following the conclusion of the Gryps Conflict and the defeat of the Titans, the colonial space separatist movement reached fever pitch. When the First Neo Zeon War ended, the Earth Federation decided to create a new organisation to inspect the colonies for remaining dissidents and revolutionaries.

This counter-insurgency force was called Londo Bell, and unlike the elitist Titans, its personnel were largely recruited from AEUG and Karaba, making them more humane in their inspections. The newly commissioned Ra Cailum was selected as the flagship of this elite unit and placed under the command of Captain Bright Noa, veteran of multiple conflicts.

The Ra Cailum also served as ace pilot Amuro Ray’s personal base of operations when he joined Londo Bell, completing the reunion of the legendary White Base command team.

Second Neo Zeon War

On 3 March UC 0093, the Ra Cailum responded to a new Neo Zeon movement led by Char Aznable. Accompanied by three Clop-class cruisers, the ship raced to the scene as the Second Neo Zeon War began with the battle for Fifth Luna.

Despite valiant efforts by the ship and its mobile suits, they failed to prevent the drop of Fifth Luna, which impacted Lhasa, Tibet, the site of Earth Federation Forces headquarters. During the battle, Captain Noa ordered the Ra Cailum to position itself between Neo Zeon forces and a disabled passenger shuttle that had wandered into the combat zone.

When the battle subsided, the shuttle’s passengers were taken aboard as refugees, including Bright’s son Hathaway Noa, Vice-Foreign Minister Adenauer Paraya, and his daughter Quess Paraya.

Diplomatic Mission

Once aboard, Adenauer Paraya ordered Captain Noa to take the Ra Cailum to the space colony Londenion at Side 1 to seek contact with Neo Zeon leadership for potential peace negotiations. The ship docked at the colony’s spaceport, where civilians disembarked and the crew enjoyed brief shore leave whilst the heavily damaged vessel underwent repairs.

The Ra Cailum’s bow had been completely destroyed and required reconstruction from scratch. During this time, negotiations between the Federation and Neo Zeon concluded with an agreement: Neo Zeon would surrender their warships at Luna II in exchange for the asteroid Axis, purchased with gold bullion.

Cameron Bloom, a Federation official and former fiancé of Bright’s wife Mirai, suspected treachery and informed Bright of Char’s true intentions. As feared, Neo Zeon had no intention of honouring the agreement and sent a decoy fleet to Luna II.

Battle of Axis

The Ra Cailum participated in the climactic battle to prevent Axis from impacting Earth. The ship launched a comprehensive nuclear barrage against the asteroid whilst deploying mini mobile suits to infiltrate and destroy Axis from within using nuclear explosives.

During this final engagement, both Amuro Ray and Char Aznable were lost in their ultimate confrontation, bringing their legendary rivalry to a close. The Ra Cailum survived the battle and witnessed the miraculous psychoframe resonance that ultimately saved Earth.

Laplace Incident

Three years later, in UC 0096, the Ra Cailum was involved in the events surrounding Laplace’s Box. During the Laplace Incident, the ship responded to an assault on Dakar by Zeon Remnants, launching the Tri-Stars Team to intercept. However, this attack was merely a diversion to distract the Federation from locating the Garencieres in the desert.

The Ra Cailum later gained a new addition to its crew: Riddhe Marcenas and his MSN-001A1 Delta Plus before moving to intercept a Zeon attack at Torrington Base.

When it was discovered that the Federation, in collaboration with the Vist Foundation, planned to destroy the Nahel Argama to hide the truth about Laplace’s Box, Captain Noa used his connections to negotiate with the Garencieres crew. He allowed Banagher Links to escape with the Unicorn Gundam to assist the Nahel Argama.

Later, when Gryps II was prepared to destroy Industrial 7, Bright and Ra Cailum crew members raided the colony laser’s control base in Cheyenne, with Bright threatening to betray the Federation if the laser successfully destroyed the colony.

Design

As the lead ship of its class, the Ra Cailum incorporated all the advanced features that would define the Ra Cailum-class design. The ship combined powerful weaponry with comprehensive mobile suit support capabilities, representing the pinnacle of Federation battleship technology.

The vessel featured dual bridges for redundancy: a regular bridge for normal operations and a protected combat bridge that doubled as an escape pod. Eight engines provided propulsion, whilst cooling fins improved fuel efficiency and speed.

Mobile suit complement

The Ra Cailum typically carried a complement of eight mobile suits, varying based on mission requirements and operational period:

UC 0093 (Second Neo Zeon War):

UC 0096 (Laplace Incident):

Special systems

The Ra Cailum was equipped with an advanced decoy system capable of deploying multiple balloon-shaped decoys that expanded to match the ship’s dimensions. These decoys could mimic asteroids or the ship itself, providing tactical deception during combat operations.

The ship also featured a Minovsky Craft System that allowed atmospheric operation, making it one of the few battleships capable of freely entering planetary atmospheres.

Known crew

Captain Bright Noa - Commanding officer
Commander Meran - Executive officer and Bright’s right-hand man since the Second Neo Zeon War
Amuro Ray - Mobile suit pilot (ν Gundam)
Astonaige Medoz - Chief mechanic
Riddhe Marcenas - Mobile suit pilot (Delta Plus) - joined UC 0096

Behind the scenes

The Ra Cailum was designed by Shoichi Masuo for Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack. Katoki Hajime later redesigned the vessel for the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn anime adaptation, updating the design whilst maintaining its distinctive silhouette.

The ship’s name continues the Ra Cailum-class tradition of classical names, though the specific etymology remains unclear.

Appearances

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn
Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash (referenced)