RB-79 Ball

The RGM-79N GM Custom was a mass production general purpose mobile suit developed by the Earth Federation. The “RGM” in the model code indicated that it was a general purpose, multi-role mobile suit. The “N” in the model code indicated it was a custom version of the RGM-79 GM.

Despite having inferior fire-power the Federation was able to produce the Ball in greater numbers and at a lower cost. However, the Ball was slowly phased out as more variants of the GM were developed.

History

The concept for a combat mobile pod was formulated by the Earth Federation as early as UC 0076 under the RX-76 project. However, development was put on hold until February 13, UC 0079, when the project was revived with renewed interest. The first RB-79 Ball was launched in June UC 0079.

At the beginning of the One Year War with the Principality of Zeon, the Federation lacked any sort of mobile suits. The Zeon forces held the upper hand in the war with their mobile suits, the MS-05B Zaku I and the MS-06F Zaku II.

The Federation scrambled to develop mobile weapons to counter the Zeon supremacy. They produced a prototype mobile suit, the RX-78-2 Gundam, but it was too costly to be mass produced. Their first mass-production mobile suit, the RGM-79 GM, was not produced fast enough to be deployed at all battle fronts. Thus, the Federation revived their cancelled Project V RX-76 Prototype Ball and refitted around 1,200 civilian-use SP-W03 Space Pods to be deployed in combat.

As an improvised conversion, the Ball was initially seen as ill-suited for combat. It earned the unfavourable nickname “Mobile Coffin” among Earth Federation Space Force pilots. However, it was smaller, more manoeuvrable, and more stealthy than a mobile suit. The Federation stuck to it for its low production cost and availability in large numbers.

The fast Salamis-class cruisers and their attached Ball squads harassed Zeon supply fleets with hit-and-run attacks, resulting in Zeon deploying additional forces to escort their vulnerable Papua-class and Pazock-class transport ships.

During the One Year War, the Moore Brotherhood of the Federation fielded Ball units in their attempt to reclaim the Thunderbolt Sector from Zeon’s Living Dead Division.

The most famous battle involving Balls was Operation Star One, an offensive to further pressure Zeon into retreating from Earth after the Federation took the upper hand following Operation Odessa. Being the only viable attack option, over 1,000 Balls were committed along with Salamis -class and Magellan-class warships. Their numbers overwhelmed the Zeon fleets and drove them away, but countless Balls were destroyed during what turned out to be one of the most brutal battles for the Federation.

After the One Year War, the autonomous South Sea Alliance declared independence from the Federation and deployed Ball units in the ensuing conflict.