WMS-04 Olifant

The WMS-04 Olifant was a high-mobility hovercraft support unit developed by the Maganac Corps based on the WMS-03 Maganac in After Colony 195. Designed for ranged bombardment, the Olifant moved by a hovercraft propulsion system and provided rear support for the Maganacs. It lacked standard manipulators and instead had fixed firearms mounted at the top of its body—a beam cannon and gatling gun that provided sustained fire support. The name “Olifant” is Afrikaans for “elephant,” reflecting the unit’s role as a heavy support platform.

Overview

The Olifant represented the Maganac Corps’ approach to specialized support units. Where the standard Maganac was a versatile general-purpose mobile suit, the Olifant sacrificed versatility for focused artillery capability. By eliminating manipulator hands and mounting fixed weapons directly to the body, the Olifant could deliver heavier sustained firepower than hand-held weapons allowed.

The hovercraft propulsion system gave the Olifant high mobility across desert terrain, allowing it to reposition rapidly whilst maintaining fire support for advancing Maganac units. This mobility was crucial for avoiding counterfire—artillery units needed to relocate frequently to prevent enemies from targeting their positions.

Armament

Beam Cannon

A fixed beam cannon mounted at the top of the Olifant’s body provided heavy beam firepower. The fixed mounting allowed for heavier construction than hand-held weapons, potentially increasing output and range. The beam cannon served as the Olifant’s primary anti-mobile suit weapon.

Gatling Gun

A fixed gatling gun provided sustained ballistic fire support. The high rate of fire made the gatling gun effective for suppressing enemy mobile suits and shooting down lightly-armoured targets such as vehicles or missiles. The combination of beam cannon and gatling gun gave the Olifant both anti-mobile suit and anti-vehicle capabilities.

Operational history

As a support unit, the Olifant was rarely seen during operations conducted by the Maganac Corps. Its only confirmed sighting was during a battle against OZ forces to cover the escape of Gundam pilots Duo Maxwell and Quatre Raberba Winner. This limited appearance suggested the Olifant was held in reserve for situations requiring heavy fire support rather than being deployed in standard operations.

Glory of the Losers

The Olifant did not appear as a complete unit in the Glory of the Losers manga. However, its leg parts were used as additional equipment for Gundam Sandrock and the Maganac Corps during the attack on the New Edwards base, demonstrating the modular nature of Maganac-series equipment.

Appearances

The WMS-04 Olifant appeared in the following works:

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (anime series)
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz: Glory of the Losers (manga, parts used)

External links

WMS-04 Olifant on the Gundam Wiki