RX-77-2 Guncannon

Model number: RX-77-2/RX-77-02
Code name: Guncannon
Unit type: prototype artillery mobile suit
Manufacturer: Earth Federation Forces
Operator: Earth Federation Forces
Rollout: May UC 0079
First deployment: 18 September UC 0079
Accommodation: pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso with Core Block System using FF-X7 Core Fighter
Dimensions: overall height 18.1 meters; head height 17.5 meters
Weight: empty 51.0 metric tons; max gross 70.0 metric tons
Armor materials: Luna Titanium alloy
Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 1,380 kW
Propulsion: rocket thrusters: 51,800 kg total (2 x 22,600 kg, 4 x 1,650 kg)
Performance: 180-degree turn time 2.0 seconds; maximum ground running speed 145 km/h
Equipment and design features: sensors, range 6,000 meters
Fixed armaments: 2 x 60mm vulcan gun, mounted in head; 2 x 240mm cannon, variable independent-fire, 20 round magazine each, mounted over shoulders
Optional fixed armaments: 2 x spray missile launcher, mounted over shoulders in place of 240mm cannons
Optional hand armaments: beam rifle, powered by rechargeable energy cap

In UC 0078, Anaheim Electronics produced the RCX-76-02 Guncannon First Type for the Earth Federation Forces. An elite squadron was deployed to fight Zeon mobile suits at Mare Smythii on the lunar surface and performed poorly. Engineer Tem Ray argued that the Guncannon First Type was not what a mobile suit should be and persuaded the EFF to allow him to develop mobile suits in what became Operation V. The mid-range fire support RX-77-2 Guncannon was one of the results of Operation V and showed marked improvements over the First Type. The standard Guncannon utilized the Core Block System, which allowed the pilot to eject the cockpit and transform it into the FF-X7 Core Fighter to escape. In place of the First Type’s simple manipulators, the Guncannon’s human-style hands allowed it to use a beam rifle. The Guncannon’s main armament was a pair of shoulder-mounted 240mm cannons, which could be swapped out with spray missile launchers. It also featured a pair of head-mounted vulcan guns.

On September 18, UC 0079, the Guncannon was mobilized when Zeon ace pilot Char Aznable attacked the Side 7 colony where the Operation V mobile suits were secretly under development. A surviving Guncannon was loaded onto the assault carrier White Base, along with the RX-75-4 Guntank and RX-78-2 Gundam. Civilian-turned-pilot Kai Shiden used the Guncannon for the rest of the war until its destruction at the Battle of A Baoa Qu. In the later stages of the One Year War, the EFF fielded the RX-77D Guncannon Mass Production Type, along with variants like the RX-77-3 Guncannon Heavy Custom and RX-77-4 Guncannon II. At the same time, the EFF added Guncannon elements to the RGM-79 GM to create the RGC-80 GM Cannon. After the One Year War ended in UC 0080, the EFF also produced an amphibious version, the RX-77AQ Guncannon Aqua. In the post-war era, the Guncannon’s role was carried on by the newer RGC-83 GM Cannon II.

Pilot(s): Kai Shiden, Hayato Kobayashi, Amuro Ray, Ryu Jose, Wesley Navarro, Kirk Wahlberg, Darryl Boyd
First appearance: Mobile Suit Gundam
Original mechanical designer: Kunio Okawara (Mobile Suit Gundam version)

Rear view (Version 1)

Rear view (Version 2)

Rear view (Version 2, equipped with spray missile launchers)