General and Technical Data

Class: Columbus
Unit type: transport ship
Manufacturer: Earth Federation Forces
Operator: Earth Federation Forces
First deployment: unknown
Dimensions: overall length 145 meters
Propulsion: 8 x rocket engine
Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown
Fixed armaments: unknown

Technical and Historical Notes

The Columbus class was the standard Federation Forces supply ship and tender at the outbreak of the One Year War, and many were also converted for use as fighter carriers for the Federation Forces FF-4 Toriares and FF-S3 Saberfish type spacecraft. A small number of modified Columbus class (Trafalgar- and Antietam-class) would see use in the Federation Forces fleet through the One Year War. Late in the war, many were converted to carry the Federation Forces GM-type mobile suits and Ball-type support units, and still others were converted to ferry the Public class gunship into battle. However, these converted transports performed poorly in their assigned task, as they lacked adequate support and launching facilities for these types of weapons. The Columbus class would later be used as a mobile suit transport during the New Desides rebellion of UC 0088, where both the Federation Forces' Taskforce Alpha and the forces of New Desides would use improved versions of the Columbus class ships to carry mobile suits in that conflict.

Miscellaneous Information

Appearances: Mobile Suit Gundam; Mobile Suit Gundam: Mobile Suit Gundam: Outer Gundam; Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space; Mobile Suit Gundam: Pilot's Locus; Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn
Original mechanical designer(s): Yoshiyuki Tomino (principal design), Kunio Okawara (cleanup)