RX-75-4 Guntank

Model number: RX-75-4
Code name: Guntank
Unit type: prototype artillery mobile suit
Manufacturer: Earth Federation Forces
Operator: Earth Federation Forces
Rollout: UC 0075
First deployment: 18 September UC 0079
Accommodation: pilot/driver in standard cockpit in torso with Core Block System using FF-X7 Core Fighter; copilot/gunner in canopy-style cockpit in head
Dimensions: overall height 15.6 meters; head height 15.0 meters
Weight: empty 56.0 metric tons; max gross 80.0 metric tons
Armor materials: Luna Titanium alloy
Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 878 kW
Propulsion: 2 x engine-driven caterpillar tread; rocket thrusters: 88,000 kg total
Performance: maximum ground driving speed 110 km/h
Equipment and design features: sensors, range 6,000 meters
Fixed armaments: 2 x 180mm cannon, 30 round magazine each, mounted over shoulders; 2 x 4-tube bop missile launcher, mounted on arms

In UC 0065, the Earth Federation Forces rolled out the RTX-65 Guntank Early Type as a new MBT (main battle tank). The RTX-65 was more advanced than the Type 61 Tank and fused a humanoid torso with a tank body. However, over the course of the next decade, the EFF fell behind the Principality of Zeon in mobile suit research and scrambled to catch up. In UC 0075, the EFF developed the experimental RTX-44, which became the basis of the RX-75-4 Guntank. The RX-75-4 included several improvements over its predecessor, such as the Core Block System, which housed the FF-X7 Core Fighter in the torso to serve as an escape craft for the primary pilot. If the Guntank’s top half was ejected to release the Core Fighter, it could continue to function as a stationary gun emplacement. Like the earlier RTX-65, the Guntank had two pilots: a driver in the torso, and a gunner in the head. The Guntank’s armaments included two 180mm cannons mounted on its shoulders, plus a pair of 4-tube missile launchers mounted as its arms.

On September 18, UC 0079, Zeon ace pilot Char Aznable attacked the Side 7 space colony where Operation V mobile suits were secretly under development. A surviving Guntank was transferred to the assault carrier White Base, along with the RX-77-2 Guncannon and RX-78-2 Gundam. As the White Base traveled across Earth, the Guntank was modified to allow the primary pilot to serve as both driver and gunner in the head-based cockpit. The Guntank performed well enough for the EFF to produce the RX-75 Guntank Mass Production Type, which was deployed to Southeast Asia and other fronts. The variant RTX-440 Assault Guntank saw combat in Europe during Operation Odessa. A troop-carrying variant was also deployed during Operation Star One and was part of the invasion of the space fortress A Baoa Qu. After the One Year War, the EFF rolled out the RMV-1 Guntank II, which saw use for several decades. The Guntank also inspired the design of the later D-50C Loto, which could transform from a tank into a fully humanoid form.

Pilot(s): Ryu Jose, Hayato Kobayashi, Kai Shiden, Amuro Ray, Larry Radley
First appearance: Mobile Suit Gundam
Original mechanical designer: Kunio Okawara

Rear view