Introducing the RB-79C Ball from Mobile Suit Gundam (Universal Century).
The Ball is a small one-man mobile armor that saw widespread service in the Earth Federation Space Force (E.F.S.F) during the One Year War. Nicknamed the "Mobile Coffin" by E.F.S.F pilots, the Ball is a converted civilian space pod that was rushed into service to combat Zeon's Zaku II mobile suits. Later in the war, the Ball served to escort and augment the Federation's RGM-79 (aka "GM") mobile suits.
The Ball was never designed to be the tool of ace pilots. It was introduced as a stop-gap measure to stall for time while the Federation rushed the GM into production. The Ball was very cheap to produce, allowing the Federation to overwhelm Zeon with its superior production. Due to its superior numbers, the Ball was used to flank and overwhelm Zeon mobile suits and anti-armor defenses, allowing the GM to deal the final blow.
The Ball's offensive weaponry is mounted on top of the unit and is modular for easy replacement. A grappling hook (pull beam) and two grapples are used for close quarters combat. Despite its reputation for low survivability, the Ball is fast (overdrive) and highly maneuverable and has decent hitting power for a ship its size.
Variants (see versions history)
RB-79C: 180mm Recoilless Howitzer
RB-79K: Twin 120mm Cannon (Note that official lore states this is a twin 180mm cannon, but given the caliber and RoF differences displayed from the RB-79C in the animes, it is clearly a lower caliber weapon.)
