RX-77-1A Guncannon A
Prototype artillery mobile suit developed by the Earth Federation.
The RX-77-1A Guncannon A was a prototype artillery mobile suit developed by the Earth Federation Forces for mid-range fire support. It was part of the Federation’s top-secret Project V, a programme initiated to research and build mobile weapons.
The “R” in the type code meant it was a Federation model1 and the “X” designated it as an experimental mobile suit. The model number “77” indicated it was developed in UC 0077. The block number “1” meant it was the first design version, and the “A” meant the first variant of the design.
History
The Earth Federation began Project V four years before the One Year War after receiving intelligence reports about the mobile suits being developed by the Principality of Zeon.
The RX-77-1A Guncannon A served as an early concept for a mid-range fire support unit. Its heavy armor severely limited mobility, leading Federation engineers to improve the design. This resulted in the development of the RX-77-2 Guncannon.
Design
Unlike the RX-75-4 Guntank, the first unit from Project V that combined mobile suit and tank features, the Guncannon A used a true humanoid frame. The mobile suit featured additional armor plating for improved survivability, though this extra protection came at the cost of reduced mobility.
The mobile suit had a standard cockpit located in its torso.
Armaments
The Guncannon A’s standard weapons were artillery cannons for ranged attacks. It could optionally mount triple missile pods and carried a beam rifle for additional firepower.
60 mm vulcan guns
A pair of fire-linked vulcan guns were mounted on either side of the Guncannon A’s head. Each gun carried 400 rounds of ammunition and fired at a rate of 1,600 rounds per minute.
The vulcan guns were used primarily against light-armored support units. Sustained fire from the guns could damage mobile suits and were often used in close distance combat.
240 mm artillery cannons
The Guncannon A mounted a 240 mm artillery cannon over each shoulder. Each cannon drew ammunition from a 20-round internal magazine.
The artillery shells measured 240 by 800 millimetres and carried a 95-kilogram high explosive fragmentation warhead with a casualty radius of 40 metres. These cannons had an effective range of up to 2.5 kilometres.
Beam rifle
The Guncannon A was one of the first mobile weapons to use an energy cap-based beam rifle. The Bauva·XBR-L beam rifle was more powerful than the beam spray gun used by the RX-78-2 Gundam.
The beam rifle drew power from an internal energy cap that held enough charge for 15 shots. It had a maximum effective range of 2.8 kilometres.
Triple missile pod
The mobile suit could mount an optional triple missile pod on each hip for additional firepower.
Behind the scenes
Okawara Kunio was the original mechanical designer.
Appearances
- Missing Mobile Suit Variations
External links
- RX-77-1A Guncannon A on the Gundam Wiki
- RX-77-1A Guncannon A on MAHQ
Footnotes
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Federation in Japanese is renpou, hence the use of “R”. ↩