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Ra Cailum-class

Space battleship class developed by the Earth Federation Forces.
Jenxi Seow Published 24 Jun 2024 Updated 24 Jun 2024
Ra Cailum-class

The Ra Cailum-class was the last battleship class commissioned by the Earth Federation Forces, designed as a high-performance vessel capable of both conventional ship-to-ship combat and advanced mobile suit operations. First deployed in UC 0093, the class served as the backbone of Federation naval power for over six decades.

The class name is sometimes spelled “Lar Kairum” but is pronounced “Rock-eye-loom” in both cases.

History

Development

The Ra Cailum-class was developed by the Earth Federation Forces in the early UC 0090s as part of a comprehensive fleet modernisation programme following the Gryps Conflict and First Neo Zeon War. The design incorporated lessons learned from previous conflicts and represented the culmination of Federation battleship development.

The class was designed to excel in both conventional naval warfare and mobile suit support operations, incorporating advanced technologies and design elements from both Earth Federation ships and the AEUG’s Argama-class.

Second Neo Zeon War

The lead ship Ra Cailum was assigned as the flagship of the Londo Bell task force under Captain Bright Noa in UC 0093. During the Second Neo Zeon War, the ship played a crucial role in operations against Char Aznable’s Neo Zeon forces.

The Ra Cailum first distinguished itself by rescuing a disabled civilian shuttle carrying important government officials, including Vice-Foreign Minister Adenauer Paraya. Later, the ship launched a nuclear barrage against the asteroid Axis and deployed a team of mini mobile suits to infiltrate and destroy the asteroid from within.

Laplace Incident

Three years later, during the Laplace Incident in UC 0096, the Ra Cailum was involved in exposing collusion between the Earth Federation and the Vist Foundation. The ship participated in operations to prevent the destruction of Industrial 7 and played a crucial role in the events surrounding Laplace’s Box.

Later Service

The Ra Cailum-class continued to serve through major conflicts of the late Universal Century. In UC 0120, the Admiral Tianem under Captain Novotny was sent to Mars as flagship of the 13th Independent Mobile Fleet for testing the F90 Gundam units. The ship was ultimately sunk in Martian orbit by Mars Zeon’s Olympus Cannon.

During the Crossbone Vanguard invasion of UC 0123, multiple Ra Cailum-class ships saw action. The Ra Gustar led a controversial assault on Frontier IV, ordering bombardment through the colony’s exterior despite potential civilian casualties. Another Ra Cailum-class ship served as flagship for reinforcements from the Moon but was quickly destroyed by the XMA-01 Rafflesia.

In the same year, the Ajax of the 306th Corps was sunk during field testing of the RX-99 Neo Gundam at Zebra Zone.

Final Years

During the Zanscare War in UC 0153, the League Militaire operated the Jeanne D’Arc under Admiral Mubarak Stern. Despite being over 60 years old, the ship was fitted with a beam shield as a defensive measure. Admiral Stern ultimately launched a suicide attack on the Zanscare fleet, but the ship was destroyed by Chronicle Asher in the ZMT-S34S Rig Contio.

Design

The Ra Cailum-class represented the pinnacle of Federation battleship design, combining massive firepower with advanced mobile suit support capabilities. The design drew heavily from the Irish-class battleship and Alexandria-class cruiser, whilst discarding most design elements from the older Magellan-class battleships.

The class featured a distinctive design with two bridges: a regular bridge for normal operations and a more protected combat bridge that also served as an escape pod. This redundancy ensured command and control could be maintained even under heavy fire.

Eight engines provided propulsion, supplemented by a pair of cooling fins designed to improve fuel consumption and increase speed. Like the earlier Pegasus-class, the Ra Cailum-class incorporated a Minovsky Craft System that allowed the ships to freely enter Earth’s atmosphere and operate at low altitudes.

Armaments

The Ra Cailum-class mounted a formidable array of weapons designed to engage threats from all directions whilst providing comprehensive mobile suit support.

Main armament

Five 2-barrel mega particle cannons served as the main battery, strategically positioned across the vessel. Three were mounted forward of the bridge on the dorsal and ventral hulls, one was positioned aft of the bridge, and one was mounted on the underside of the rear landing deck. This arrangement provided 360-degree coverage against enemy vessels.

The Admiral Tianem refit removed two of these weapons, retaining only three mega particle cannons whilst modifying other systems.

Secondary armament

Twenty-two 2-barrel defensive guns were distributed throughout the hull to provide comprehensive anti-aircraft and anti-mobile suit defence. These weapons were positioned to ensure protection from attacks from any direction, creating overlapping fields of fire.

The Admiral Tianem refit reduced this to sixteen defensive guns as part of its overall modifications.

Missile systems

Six missile launchers were mounted in the bow section, capable of firing various types of ordnance depending on mission requirements. These could be loaded with anti-ship or anti-mobile suit missiles as needed.

Additional missile systems included 6-tube launchers mounted on both sides near the catapult ends, an 8-tube launcher at the front of the top deck, and 2-tube launchers on the lower decks.

A rear-facing missile launcher was mounted on the underside between the engine blocks for aft defence.

Mobile suit operations

The Ra Cailum-class featured comprehensive mobile suit support facilities, including a hangar capable of storing eight mobile suits and two launch catapults mounted on either side of the ship. A landing deck at the rear allowed for mobile suit recovery operations.

The Admiral Tianem refit featured modified catapults mounted sideways, reflecting the specific requirements of F90 Gundam testing operations.

Special systems

Ra Cailum-class ships were equipped with an advanced decoy system capable of deploying multiple balloon-shaped decoys that expanded to match the ship’s size and profile. These decoys could mimic the appearance of asteroids or the ship itself, providing tactical deception capabilities.

By UC 0153, surviving ships had been fitted with beam shields and enhanced Minovsky Craft Systems as part of modernisation programmes.

Ships and captains

The Ra Cailum-class comprised several notable vessels:

  • Ra Cailum (lead ship), captained by Bright Noa
  • Ra Gustar, captain unknown
  • Jeanne D’Arc, captained by Admiral Mubarak Stern
  • Ajax, captain unknown
  • Abrams, captain unknown
  • Admiral Tianem, captained by Novotny

The class saw action across multiple conflicts, with a total of nine Ra Cailum-class ships appearing during the Crossbone Vanguard invasion, though all except the Ra Gustar were confirmed destroyed.

Behind the scenes

The original Ra Cailum-class design was created by Shoichi Masuo for Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack. Katoki Hajime later redesigned the class for the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn anime adaptation.

The class served as the design basis for the smaller Clop-class cruisers, which were developed around the same time and shared many technological features.

Appearances

See also