The RX-77-1A Guncannon A was a prototype artillery mobile suit developed by the Earth Federation.
It was part of the Federation’s top-secret Project V, a programme initiated to research and build mobile weapons. Its design was improved and refined into the RX-77-2 Guncannon.
History
The Earth Federation begun the secret Project V to develop mobile weapons four years prior to the One Year War, after it received intelligence reports of the mobile suits that the Principality of Zeon was building.
The prototype RX-77-1A Guncannon A was the early concept for a mid-range fire support unit. It had heavier armour that made it less mobile. The mobility was so bad that the Federations engineers had to improve on the designs and this led to the development of the RX-77-2 Guncannon.
Design
Unlike RX-75-4 Guntank, the first unit to emerge from Project V, the RX-77-1A Guncannon A was a true mobile suit with a humanoid frame, as opposed to the former’s design that was a fusion of a mobile suit and a tank. The Guncannon A was designed to function as a mid-range support unit.
As it lacked a close-range weapon, the engineers gave it extra armour to be able to withstand more damage. This resulted in it having poor mobility.
Armaments
The standard weapons used by the Guncannon A were a ranged weapon, medium-range artillery cannons. It could also mount a three-tube missile pod in place of the cannons.
60 mm vulcan guns
A pair of fire-linked 60 mm gatling vulcan guns were mounted on either sides of the Guncannon’s head. This was an improvement from the Guntank, which lacked proper short-ranged weapons.
RX-77-2 Guncannon head
Each vulcan gun was loaded with 400 rounds of ammunition and fired at a rate of 1,600 rounds per minute. It was used primarily against light-armoured support units. Sustained fire from the guns could damage mobile suits and were often used in close distance combat.
240 mm artillery cannons
A 240 mm mid-range artillery cannon was mounted over each shoulder of the Guncannon A. Each cannon drew ammunitions from a 20 round internal magazine. The limited ammunitions meant that the pilot had to use the cannons wisely.
RX-77-2 Guncannon artillery cannon
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 a firing 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 (Bauva eXperimental Beam Rifle – Long range) beam rifle was larger and more powerful mega particle armament compared to the [beam spray gun] used by the RX-78-2 Gundam. Its beam bolts were able to penetrate medium and heavy armour.
BAUVA·XBR-L beam rifle
The beam rifle was powered by an internal energy cap with an average charge of fifteen rounds. It had a maximum effective range of 2.8 kilometres.
BAUVA·XBR-L beam rifle
Behind the scenes
Kunio Okawara is the original mechanical designer.