RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type – MechaBay | Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team

The RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type was an artillery mobile suit mass produced by the Earth Federation Forces as a ground-use fire support unit. It was a simplified version of the RX-75-4 Guntank prototype developed under Project V.

The “R” in the model code meant it was a Federation model¹ and the “X” indicated that it was an experimental mobile suit. The “75” in the model code denoted that it was developed from the RX-75 Guntank series in UC 0075.

History

Upon launching Project V in UC 0075, the Earth Federation Forces began their own mobile suit development project, and their earliest effort was the RX-75-4 Guntank. Although it did have a mobile suit body, head and arms, it did not have a mobile suit’s walking legs, being mounted instead on a caterpillar-driven tank-like base.

The Federation decided to put the unit into mass production after the prototype demonstrated acceptable performance during the One Year War. The RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type was introduced in the final months of the war as a heavy artillery base assault and fire-support unit.

Production of the mass production Guntank was limited with only a handful of units serving in the Earth Federation army throughout Earth, mainly in base defence or long range artillery support. The mobile suit saw its most notable action with the Kojima Battalion in South-East Asia, where three units were used to bombard Zeon’s mountain fortress, preventing any attempts at mass-escape through the use of a shuttle.

These units were specifically targeted by Norris Packard in his MS-07B-3 Gouf Custom, who successfully destroyed all three units despite the efforts of the 08th MS Team to stop him. Without the Guntanks providing heavy artillery fire-support, the Zeon forces were able to safely launch their Apsalus III mobile armor.

After the war, production of the RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type was halted in favour of the newly designed RMV-1 Guntank II that was more heavily armed and had better firing arcs for its cannons. The Guntank Mass Production Type continued service into UC 0081, where they were used for defence of Federation bases or operations against Zeon remnants.

Design

The RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type was very similar to its prototype predecessor, although the most notable difference was the removal of the expensive and complicated Core Block System. Although the loss of the Core Fighter reduced the pilot’s chances of bailing out alive, it did allow the body to be built to perform a “torso twist,” thus making the Guntank’s upper body able to turn to face different targets while its drive base continued travelling in one direction.

This addressed a major design flaw of the original Guntank, which had been unable to turn its torso, requiring the entire unit to reposition to aim its weapons at moving targets.

The mounts for the shoulder cannons were also made “universal,” capable of mounting different types of cannons, weapons or other equipment. This modular approach improved the mobile suit’s versatility and allowed for mission-specific configurations.

Unlike the original Guntank, which was able to carry out missions such as air-defence, the Guntank Mass Production Type was purely intended for fire support. Compared to the prototype Guntank, the Mass Production Type’s cannons featured improved range and ammo capacity, as well as a more efficient reloading system.

A large ammo storage was stored in its backpack. When firing, its backpack would deploy and reveal a pair of mechanical arms that would automatically reload its 120 mm cannons. This automated loading system significantly improved the mobile suit’s sustained fire capability during prolonged engagements.

Armaments

The RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type’s standard weapons were twin 120 mm cannons for long-range artillery bombardment and 4-barrel gun launchers for mid-range support.

120 mm cannons

The primary weapons of the RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type were a pair of 120 mm cannons based upon the cannons used by the RX-75-4 Guntank. The cannons were fire-linked and mounted on the backpack, which contained an auto-loading system for continuous firing.

These weapons provided the mobile suit with substantial long-range firepower, capable of engaging targets well beyond visual range. The cannons were effective against both mobile suits and fortified positions, making them ideal for the artillery support role.

The automated reloading mechanism allowed for sustained bombardment without requiring the crew to manually handle heavy ammunition, significantly improving the rate of fire and reducing crew fatigue during extended operations.

4-barrel gun launchers

For mid-range combat, the mass production Guntank was equipped with a pair of 4-barrel gun launchers mounted in place of standard mobile suit forearms. These weapons provided rapid-fire capability against enemy mobile suits and aircraft.

The launchers could fire various types of ammunition depending on mission requirements, including high-explosive rounds for anti-personnel work and armour-piercing rounds for engaging lightly armoured vehicles. Their positioning on the arms allowed for good coverage of the mobile suit’s forward arc.

Known pilots

Various Kojima Battalion crews
Various Earth Federation Forces crews

Variants

RX-75 Berge Guntank

A field modified recovery variant called the Berge Guntank also existed. These units were refitted for recovery and construction work, with cannons replaced by crane arms and dozer blades attached to the front for clearing obstacles.

The Berge Guntank was used in the deserts of Southeast Asia by the Kojima Battalion during the One Year War, providing essential recovery and engineering support for Federation mobile suit operations.

Behind the scenes

Okawara Kunio was the original mechanical designer for the RX-75 series. The mass production variant represented a more practical approach to artillery mobile suit design, focusing on manufacturing efficiency and operational effectiveness rather than the technological showcasing of the prototype.

Appearances

Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
Mobile Suit Gundam: Battle Operation 2

External links

RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type on MAHQ
RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type on the Gundam Wiki

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