RB-133 Type 133 Ball
Low-cost mobile pod developed by the Earth Federation Forces.
The RB-133 Type 133 Ball was a mobile pod developed by the Earth Federation Forces in UC 0133 as a successor to the RB-79 Ball. Despite its predecessor’s unfavourable reputation, the Federation revived the Ball concept due to its low production costs and ease of pilot training compared to standard mobile suits.
The “R” in the type code meant it was a Federation model1 and the “B” indicated that it was a Ball-type mobile pod. The “133” in the model number denoted it was developed in UC 0133.
History
In UC 0133, more than sixty years after the One Year War, the Earth Federation Forces revived the Ball concept as part of their high-low mix strategy. While they deployed high-performance mobile suits like the F91 Gundam F91, these proved too costly for widespread deployment. The Federation reevaluated the Ball series’ simple structure and low costs for a support role.
The Type 133 Ball first saw action with the Earth Federation Forces’ 17th Mobile Forces during an ambush to capture the Mother Vanguard. After a false flag attack by the XM-X2 Crossbone Gundam X-2, Type 133 Balls participated in the siege and destruction of the Mother Vanguard.
During the Jupiter Empire’s invasion of Earth, Type 133 Balls provided fire support for Federation mobile suits. However, they proved no match for the Empire’s more advanced mobile suits, with many being destroyed in battle.
The Type 133 Ball’s lacklustre performance likely led to its replacement by more advanced mobile suits like the RGM-119 Jamesgun and RGM-122 Javelin.
Design
The Type 133 Ball maintained the basic mobile pod design of its predecessor but featured improved armament. Most notably, it mounted three 120 mm recoilless cannons on its body instead of the single 180 mm cannon of the original Ball. To address the original Ball’s weakness in close combat, the Type 133 Ball added two 30 mm vulcan guns mounted on its body.
The Type 133 Ball retained the standard cockpit in its main body. Like its predecessor, it was equipped with a Minovsky ultracompact fusion reactor and rocket thrusters, though their specifications remain unknown.
A squadron of Type 133 Balls cost roughly the same as a squadron of standard Federation mobile suits of the era, such as the Jamesgun. However, despite the improvements over the original Ball, the Type 133 Ball was still considered inadequate for modern combat conditions.
Armaments
The Type 133 Ball’s standard weapons were three 120 mm recoilless cannons for ranged attacks, and two 30 mm vulcan guns for close-range defence.
Triple cannon
Three 120 mm recoilless cannons mounted on the body, arranged in a triple configuration to increase firepower over the original Ball’s single cannon.
Vulcan guns
Two 30 mm shell-firing weapons built into the body, providing close-range defensive capability that the original Ball lacked.
Behind the scenes
Hasegawa Yuichi was the original mechanical designer.
Appearances
- Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam
See also
- RB-79 Ball
- RGM-119 Jamesgun
- RGM-122 Javelin
External links
- RB-133 Type 133 Ball on the Gundam Wiki
- RB-133 Type 133 Ball on MAHQ
Footnotes
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Federation in Japanese is renpou, hence the use of “R”. ↩