Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Musai-Class Light Cruiser
| Musai-Class Light Cruiser | |
|---|---|
| Fast Facts | |
| Ship Type | Light Cruiser |
| Class: | Musai |
| Launched: | July U.C. 0075 |
| Class Fate: | Inactive as of U.C. 0100 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 26,200 tons |
| Length: | 234 meters |
| Width: | 98.4 meters |
| Height: | 79.4 meters |
| Armament: | (Original) 2-barrel mega particle cannon turrets x3 [Later models refitted with only 2 turrets], large missile launchers x2, small missile launchers x10 (Final Production Type) 2-barrel mega particle cannon turrets x2 |
| Mobile Suit Complement: (Musai/Komusai) | Orignial: 3/2 Orignial Refit: Standard MS- 4/2, Heavy MS- 2/1 |
In the Gundam (Universal Century) fictional universe, the Principality of Zeon Musai-Class Light Cruiser was the first warship designed to carry mobile suits. It carried a "Komusai" landing capsule that could (and often did) carry additional mobile suits. There were several models of the Musai produced during the war:
| Contents |
Original Musai-Class Light Cruiser
The original Musai-Class Light Cruiser variant carried five MS-05 Zaku Is or MS-06 Zaku IIs mobile suits and supported them with a battery of three mega particle cannon turrets. This is the version seen most frequently during the One Year War. Earth Federation soldiers referred to this style of carrying as "three in the back and two under the hood." Using the Komusai pod bays to carry operational mobile suits (rather than for their initial purpose of carrying the mobile suits to the surface of the Earth) brought the mobile suit carrying capacity of the Musai up almost to the same standard as the much larger EFSF Pegasus-Class Assault Carrier. The standard Musai had three mobile suit catapults mounted on the upper port, upper starboard and lower faces of its hexagonal mobile suit hangar. Char Aznable commanded a modified Musai I with a helmet-shaped command bridge (the Falmel).
Towards the end of the One Year War, however, the Musai had to be reorganized, and the Zeon enginers remodeled the three-turret based cruisers into a two-turret model. This was due to the fact that the Zeon forces were mostly now using the far more efficient MS-09R Rick Dom mobile suit. This caused a problem though for the standard Musai model: The Rick Dom were far bulkier, making it impossible to fit three of the units inside the already cramped hangar. By remodeling the hangar and removing one of the mega beam cannon turrets, the hangar could hold two of the new "heavy" type Dom mobile suit units, while the Komusai could hold one of the "heavy" type mobile suits. However, the two turret models could also now hold four "standard" type Zaku IIs. Despite not being able to carry the Rick Dom mobile suits, this didn't cancel the three-turret variant as they still continued service until the end of the war at A Baoa Qu.
By U.C. 0087, most of the original Musai-Class Light Cruisers had been upgraded into the Musai Kai-Class Light Cruisers, used by the Titans and the mobile asteroid Axis. However, little is known of this upgraded Musai type. It uses the three turret deisgn of the orignial Musai and the original Komusai shuttle. However, it could logically be concluded that the Musai Kai was easily outstripped by the more powerful new ships, such as the Alexandria-Class Heavy Cruiser
Musai-Class Light Cruiser - Final Production Type
The Musai-Class Final Production Type had an improved hull design and upgraded engines. This rare version was a subtype ship design of the original Musai Light Cruiser that was in production during November and December, as resource restrictions forced the Principality of Zeon to eliminate its ambitious plan of replacing all the original, refitted originals, and the only slightly improved Final Production Type Musai designs with the drastically upgraded Late Production ships. The Final Production Musai had two catapults in its mobile suit hangars. While some of the ships carried groups of four MS-06F Zaku IIs, other ships carried two of the heavier MS-09R Rick Doms or MS-14 Gelgoogs mobile suits.
Musai-Class Light Cruiser - Late Production Type
The Musai-Class Light Cruiser Late Production Type was a considerable upgrade that combined the original's firepower with refit's mobile suit complement and acceleration - and as an additional bonus, the Late Production Musai's drastically widened hull and improved launch facilities could handle four of the much larger Rick Doms or MS-14 Gelgoogs, as compared to the refitted oringial Musai and the Final Production Type's carrying capacity of just two. The Late Production Types were also the first in the Musai line to feature anti-air and anti-mobile suit machine gun turret defenses. However, only a few Musai Late Production Types were built before operational setbacks forced the Zeon naval forces to switch to the less capable but less expensive and easier to construct refit of the first Musai-Class design. Most of the Late-Type ships fled with the Delaz Fleet at the end of the One Year War and returned (and eventually destroyed) during Operation Stardust.
Fate of the Musai
The Musais of all variants acquitted themselves well in the One Year War and afterwards during Operation Stardust. Examples of the Musai continued to fly in the postwar Republic of Zeon fleet until Zeon rejoined the Earth Federation in U.C. 0099. Afterwards, all remaining ships were mothballed in U.C. 0100 and were sold and scrapped after that, with the last ship leaving for the breakers by U.C. 0120.
See also
External links
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