When Earth found itself outmatched by the Federation of Zeon and its new Mobile Suits, one design helped save the planet: the RGM-79 GM.
Of all the Mobile Suits in the Universal Century, no one design had as much work cut out for it as the RGM-79 GM. Known colloquially as the GM (and pronounced Jim), this was Earth’s first mass-produced Mobile Suit. And it came just in time for the One-Year War. Without the speedy development of the GM, Earth may have fallen to Zeon.
But how did one mass produced model of Mobile Suit make such a difference in Earth’s war? What made the GM special? It was certainly no Gundam – and yet, it borrowed much from that design. In fact, without the intervention of Amuro Ray during that fateful raid on Side 7, during which he saved the RX-78-2 Gundam, the RGM-79 GM might never have been developed.
The RGM-79 GM – Design and Capabilities
The GM was a mass-produced design inspired by the legendary Gundam. Though, the Gundam carried custom weapons. And custom armor. The RGM-79 GM, for instance, carried only titanium alloy armor, instead of Luna Titanium Alloy armor because it was easier to refine and produce. But, though the components might be relatively cheaper and easier, they weren’t generic trash either.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the frame itself. The GM was more mobile than the Gundam. Capable of .94 Gs of acceleration (in space), the GM was twice as faast as its Zaku counterparts with a top speed of 102 khm/h, giving Earth pilots an edge they sorely needed. And with a Minovsky Ultracompact Fusion Reactor, it had energy enough to power even advanced boosters and beam weaponry.
Like the Gundam, the RGM-79 GM carried a variety of weaponry, with a few key fixed components. Every GM was outfitted with a pair of head-mounted 60mm vulcan cannons. These were crucial for intercepting incoming missiles. They also could be used to destroy mobile suit sensors and engage lightly armored vehicles, though against Mobile Suit armor they weren’t as effective.
The other fixed armament was a THI-BSGj01 Beam Saber. Modeled after the Gundam’s beam saber, the THI-BSGj01 emits a plasma blade. Contained by an I-Field, the energy blade cuts through any armor not treated with anti-beam coating. Some versions of the GM carried two beam sabers instead of one. Typically these were Commander models. Some versions hurled ‘beam javelin’ models, but with a limited supply.
Hand-Held Armaments For Days
Like its counterpart, the RGM-79 GM was capable of wielding a wide variety of weapons. Its handheld armament was typically a YHI YF-MG100 machine gun. These were the mainstay of Mobile Suits throughout the One Year War.
But in the latter days of the war, the GM carried a BR-M-79C-1 Beam Spray Gun. This was a handhald “mega-particle” gun. With a lower focusing rate than the Gundam’s beam rifle, it had a shorter range, but could still fire shots powerful enough to destroy Mobile Suit armor. Its lower focusing distance let it shoot either single shots or in area suppersion burst shots capable of damaging multiple enemies.
In a pinch, a GM could use the Gudam’s Beam Rifle when it was reproduced, though there were only ever very few of these deployed during the war. Far more common were the BLASH HB-L-03/N-STD Hyper Bazookas. These rocket launchers gave the GM considerable firepower, whether using anti-armor or anti-infantry rockets.
Then of course, the standard YHI 6ML-79MM Missile Launcher which could carry a variety of missiles. Or the special Space/Ground HWF GMG-MG79 Bullpup Machine Gun, which used a new gunpowder to give a high rate of fire and sophisticated sensor suite to a more compact machinegun.
Certain RGM-79 GMs piloted by deadeye marksmen could be outfitted with a Franz EF-KAR9K sniper rifle, which only carried five shots, but excelled at engaging targets at extreme range.
A GM could also carry a 180mm Cannon or a 380mm Rocket Launcher, both of which gave it a hefty punch, though they were comparatively rare.
Rarest of all, though, was the experimental Prototype Beam Rifle. Only one was developed and assigned to the White Dingo Team in December of UC79. It was outfitted with an external generator, though wasn’t the most reliable of weapons.
RGM-79 GM – One Year Of War
The RGM-79 GM was Earth’s last-ditch response to the Mobile Suit threat. At the onset of the One-Year War, the Earth Federation had no serious Mobile Suits that could compete with the deadly Zaku II. The Gundam was developed under siege. But from its success came the GM. These Mobile Suits let Earth pilots compete with Zeon forces.
Though initially Zeon’s pilots were more experienced, the GM’s performance upgrades gave Earth pilots an edge over enemy Mobile Suit maneuverability. And with firepower capable of punching through even heavy armor (in the right circunstances), Federation forces had a chance to gain valuable experience in battle. So much so that, by the time Zeon rolled out its more advanced models, like the Rick Dom or Gelgoog, the Earth forces had a leg up in terms of experienced pilots.
That plus the bickering of the ruling Zabi family—and the actions of the crew of the White Base—helped Earth secure victory towards the latter end of the war. Many variants followed.
But the variants are a story for another time.
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