RGM-79/GH Gundam Head

The RGM-79/GH Gundam Head was a general purpose mobile suit developed by the Earth Federation Forces as a variant of the standard mass production RGM-79 GM.

The “R” in the model code meant it was a Federation model¹ and the “GM” indicated that it was a Gundam mass production mobile suit. The “79” in the model code denoted that it was developed from the RGM-79 GM, and the “/GH” suffix stood for “Gundam Head”.

History

The appearance of the RX-78-2 Gundam and similar mobile suits caused a shock to Principality of Zeon forces during the One Year War in UC 0079. To capitalise on this intimidation effect, the Earth Federation Forces created the RGM-79/GH Gundam Head, a variant of the RGM-79 GM that mounted a Gundam-type head.

Multiple Gundam Heads were deployed during Federation’s final assault at Zeon’s space fortress A Baoa Qu. Launched from a Columbus-class carrier, they engaged and defeated the defending mobile suits, and proceeded to take out the Royal Guard Zakus in the transportation tunnels in a shield-wall tactic, clearing a path for the RX-75 Guntank (Thunderbolt Ver.) to deploy troops to capture the palace and the Flanagan Institute.

Design

The RGM-79/GH Gundam Head is a variant of the standard mass production RGM-79 GM of the Federation Forces. The primary difference is in the form of its namesake: a Gundam-type head, which is meant to replicate the psychological impact that the famous Gundam had on the Zeon forces.

The Gundam Head’s joints have been sealed for protection from space debris. The new head unit has additional sensors compared to a regular GM, and its large backpack features two sub-arms that can hold two shields.

The mobile suit had a standard cockpit in its torso and enhanced sensors compared to a standard GM. The large backpack was the most distinctive feature, housing the sub-arms that provided additional tactical options during combat.

Armaments

The Gundam Head’s standard weapons were a beam saber for melee combat, a twin beam rifle for ranged attacks, and dual shields for defence.

Beam saber

A close combat weapon that emits a blade-shaped beam from the hilt when drawn. The Gundam Head has a beam saber stored horizontally on the bottom of the normal backpack which is concealed by the large backpack, and is usable only after the large backpack is ejected.

Twin beam rifle

The twin beam rifle was mounted on the right forearm, providing the Gundam Head with enhanced firepower. This weapon allowed for rapid engagement of multiple targets and provided superior firepower compared to standard GM armaments.

Shields

The mobile suit carried two shields mounted on sub-arms attached to the backpack. These shields provided enhanced defensive capability and were used effectively in shield-wall tactics during the assault on A Baoa Qu. The shields could be manipulated independently by the sub-arms, allowing for complex defensive formations.

Assault rifle

The same type of weapon used by the RGM-79 GM (Thunderbolt Ver.). It was only seen in the manga version, providing additional ranged firepower for ground-based engagements.

Sub-arms

Two sub-arms were mounted on the backpack, allowing the Gundam Head to manipulate its dual shields independently. This feature provided tactical flexibility and enabled the mobile suit to maintain defensive postures while engaging targets.

Known pilots

• Alicia

Behind the scenes

Yasuo Ohtagaki was the original mechanical designer for the Gundam Thunderbolt version.

Appearances

• Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt (anime)
• Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt (manga)

External links

• RGM-79/GH Gundam Head on the Gundam Wiki
• RGM-79/GH Gundam Head on MAHQ

Footnotes

1. Federation in Japanese is renpou, hence the use of “R”. ↩