XXXG-01H Gundam Heavyarms
Trowa's walking arsenal with overwhelming firepower.
The XXXG-01H Gundam Heavyarms was a heavy-firepower Gundam-type mobile suit deployed during Operation Meteor in After Colony 195. One of five Gundam units sent to Earth by the space colonies, it was piloted by a young man operating under the pseudonym Trowa Barton. Designed for long-range attack with overwhelming suppressive fire, it possessed firepower comparable to three to five battleships.
Overview
The Gundam Heavyarms was developed by Doktor S in the L3 Colony Cluster under financial support from the Barton Foundation. The mobile suit was a long-range attack unit featuring an extensive array of built-in firearms, combining the firepower aspect of the XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero prototype with an emphasis on overwhelming suppressive fire.
The Heavyarms’ design philosophy centred on maximum firepower density. Its overall firepower was comparable to three to five battleships’, with weapons systems including a beam gatling, chest-mounted gatling guns, homing missiles, micro missiles, vulcan guns, and machine cannons. However, its attack power dropped drastically once ammunition was depleted. The mobile suit’s vulnerability to ammunition exhaustion required skilled piloting, and with Trowa Barton’s circus performer background providing excellent spatial awareness and piloting sense, the Heavyarms proved capable of acrobatic melee combat despite its heavy-weapons specialization.
Design
Concept and development
With financial backing from the Barton Foundation, the XXXG-01H Gundam Heavyarms was designed by Doktor S for use in the first Operation Meteor plan, which involved a colony drop and subsequent “extinction level event” on Earth. The Gundam Heavyarms, along with its four companion Gundams, was to be used to control the ensuing chaos. The mobile suit was originally intended to be piloted by the son of the head of the Barton Security Group, also named Trowa Barton.
However, the Gundam design teams did not want their creations used as weapons of mass murder and decided to wage the war for colony independence in their own way. Coming up with a new plan for Operation Meteor, the original Trowa Barton was killed, and an anonymous young mobile suit mechanic took over as the pilot of the Gundam Heavyarms, adopting the name of its former pilot.
Like the other Operation Meteor Gundams, the Heavyarms was constructed from Gundanium alloy, a rare and exceptionally durable material that could only be manufactured in outer space. This gave the Heavyarms superior defensive capabilities compared to standard mobile suits.
Technical features
The Gundam Heavyarms’ design emphasized firepower density and suppressive fire capability. The mobile suit featured multiple weapons systems distributed across its frame: head-mounted vulcan guns, clavicle-mounted machine cannons, chest-mounted gatling guns, shoulder-mounted homing missiles, and leg-mounted micro missile pods. This array of weapons allowed the Heavyarms to engage multiple targets simultaneously or concentrate overwhelming firepower on single targets.
The primary armament, a beam gatling gun, was mounted on the left forearm with an integrated shield for defense. The weapon could be supported by the right arm via a foldable foregrip and was stored on the backpack when not in use. The beam gatling provided high-output sustained fire, making it devastating against both mobile suits and larger vessels.
The cockpit was a spherical capsule located in the torso with shock mitigation functions similar to the other Operation Meteor Gundams.
Despite its heavy-weapons specialization, the Heavyarms retained close-combat capability through a Gundanium alloy army knife fixed to the right arm. Whilst small, the knife could slice through enemy mobile suits with ease, providing a last-resort weapon when ammunition was exhausted.
Armament
Beam Gatling
A high-output beam weapon serving as the Heavyarms’ main armament, worn over the left forearm. The weapon was equipped with an integrated shield for defensive purposes and featured a foldable foregrip that could be attached to allow the weapon to be supported by the right arm. When not in use, it was mounted on the backpack. The beam gatling’s sustained fire capability made it devastating against multiple targets and could overwhelm enemy defenses through sheer volume of fire.
Chest Gatling Guns
A pair of eight-barreled gatling guns mounted in the left and right chest, hidden by openable armor covers. They could be fired together with the machine cannons and vulcan guns to restrict enemy units from closing in, creating an impenetrable wall of fire at close range. The chest gatling guns were particularly effective in defensive situations.
Homing Missiles
Six homing missiles were stored within the shoulders of the Heavyarms and fired at enemies with lock-on capability. These missiles provided guided anti-mobile suit capability and could track evasive targets.
Micro Missiles
Two pods each containing twelve micro missiles were mounted on the legs of the Heavyarms, providing a total of twenty-four micro missiles. These were used for saturation attacks against multiple targets or to overwhelm point-defense systems.
Vulcan Guns
A pair of shell-firing armaments built into the head. Whilst possessing low offensive power, they were used to restrict enemy movement and lay down suppressive fire due to their rapid-fire capability. When fired in combination with other weapons, they contributed to the Heavyarms’ overwhelming firepower.
Machine Cannons
Mounted on the clavicle section of the Heavyarms, the pair of machine cannons possessed stronger firepower than the vulcan guns and could deal significant damage to lightly armored targets.
Army Knife
A knife made of Gundanium alloy and fixed to the right arm, flipping forward when in use. Despite its small size limiting its reach, it had no problem slicing apart enemy mobile suits. The army knife provided close-combat capability and served as a last-resort weapon when all firearms ammunition was depleted.
Beam Saber
For Heero Yuy’s rematch with Zechs Merquise, Trowa Barton not only removed the left forearm and attached the beam gatling directly to the left elbow, he also stored a beam saber within the attachment point. This weapon was presumably borrowed from the XXXG-01W Wing Gundam, having the same green beam blade. When the beam gatling was out of ammunition, it was jettisoned, revealing the beam saber stored within, which was then wielded by the right hand. After the battle, this weapon was not seen again, implying Trowa had restored the Heavyarms’ left arm to its original state.
Cannons and Missile Pod
In the Comic BonBon manga version of Gundam Wing, the Heavyarms was equipped with a cannon pack during the battle in the Sanc Kingdom. This cannon pack consisted of two cannons, one mounted on each side of the Heavyarms’ backpack. Later, it was equipped with a cannon on the right side of its backpack and a missile pod on its right forearm when fighting in space.
Special equipment
Self-destruct system
The Gundam Heavyarms was built with a self-destruct system that the pilot could activate via a remote detonator in the cockpit. The system was designed to overload the mobile suit’s power systems and had sufficient explosive power to destroy several city blocks. It served as a last-resort tactic to prevent the Gundam from falling into enemy hands or could be used as a large explosive device against major targets.
Operational history
Operation Meteor
The Gundam Heavyarms was sent to Earth with Trowa Barton to commence Operation Meteor in AC 195. During atmospheric entry on 7 April, the mobile suit made its first combat deployment, quickly demonstrating its overwhelming firepower against OZ and United Earth Sphere Alliance forces.
The Heavyarms participated in numerous engagements against OZ facilities and mobile suit forces. Its extensive weapons array proved devastatingly effective in both offensive assaults and defensive operations. Trowa’s circus performer background provided him with exceptional spatial awareness and piloting skills, allowing him to compensate for the mobile suit’s heavy-weapons specialization with acrobatic maneuvers.
Of the five Operation Meteor Gundams, the Heavyarms was the only one that was never damaged badly enough to be disabled or captured during its entire operational history on Earth—a testament to both its robust construction and Trowa’s piloting skill.
Abandonment and recovery
As Operation Meteor escalated into a full-fledged war between OZ and the five Gundams, it became clear that the battle would eventually move to space. Trowa Barton subsequently left the ground-use Gundam Heavyarms hidden on Earth as he headed back to space.
Due to Trowa developing amnesia afterwards, he was unable to remember where he had left the Heavyarms. Sally Po eventually discovered the abandoned Gundam and brought it to space, accompanied by Heero Yuy and his Wing Gundam Zero. After meeting up with the remaining Gundam pilots aboard the Peacemillion, Howard and his crew upgraded the Gundam Heavyarms into the XXXG-01H2 Gundam Heavyarms Custom for space combat, addressing the original’s limitations in zero-gravity environments.
Antarctic duel
During the Antarctic duel between Heero Yuy and Zechs Merquise, Trowa Barton piloted the reconstructed XXXG-01W Wing Gundam to prevent Romefeller Foundation’s search party from interfering, whilst Heero used the Gundam Heavyarms for the duel itself. For this battle, Trowa modified the Heavyarms by removing the left forearm and attaching the beam gatling directly to the left elbow, with a beam saber stored within the attachment point as a backup weapon.
Production
Design and development
The Gundam Heavyarms was designed by Okawara Kunio for the 1995 anime series Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. The first design followed the nationality trend from Mobile Fighter G Gundam, with the Gundam Heavyarms design intended to be American with clown motifs, reflecting Trowa Barton’s circus performer background. Some of the latter draft designs also featured its beam gatling mounted behind its left shoulder.
The final design emphasized the mobile suit’s role as a heavy-firepower unit, with weapons systems visibly integrated throughout the frame. The distinctive chest gatling guns hidden behind armor covers became one of the mobile suit’s most iconic features.
Reception
The Gundam Heavyarms became popular amongst fans for its distinctive heavy-weapons specialization and overwhelming firepower. The mobile suit has been featured extensively in model kit releases, including multiple High Grade versions from Bandai, with a new HGAC version released in 2020.
In the manga adaptation, the Heavyarms was involved in the battle at the Sanc Kingdom and was equipped with backpack-mounted beam cannons and a bazooka-like handheld weapon. It was also never modified into Heavyarms Custom after recovery, instead being equipped with a backpack-mounted beam cannon and an arm-mounted missile launcher until the end of the story.
Specifications
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Model Number | XXXG-01H |
| Code Name | Gundam Heavyarms |
| Unit Type | Heavy-firepower long-range attack mobile suit |
| Manufacturer | Doktor S (Barton Foundation) |
| Operator | Colony Liberation Organization, G Team, Coalition of Volunteers |
| Pilot | Trowa Barton, Heero Yuy |
| Overall Height | 16.7 metres |
| Weight | 7.7 tonnes |
| Armor Material | Gundanium alloy |
| Power Plant | Ultracompact fusion reactor |
| Accommodation | Pilot only, in spherical cockpit in torso |
| Fixed Armament | 2 × vulcan gun; 2 × machine cannon; 2 × chest gatling gun; 6 × homing missile; 24 × micro missile; army knife |
| Hand-carried Armament | Beam gatling with integrated shield; beam saber (temporary); cannon (manga); missile pod (manga) |
| Special Equipment | Self-destruct system |
Variants
Gundam Sky-High Arms
An alternate configuration of the Gundam Heavyarms appearing in side stories.
Gundam Super-Armed Tank
An alternate configuration appearing in supplemental material.
Appearances
The XXXG-01H Gundam Heavyarms appeared in the following works:
- Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (anime series, episodes 1-42)
- Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (manga, with alternate equipment)
- Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Glory of the Losers (manga)
- Gundam Build Divers (cameo)
- Various video games including SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays and Gundam Breaker Mobile
External links
- XXXG-01H Gundam Heavyarms on the Gundam Wiki
Don't miss our next mobile suit analysis
Get technical specs, variants, battle history and pilot profiles delivered to your inbox.