#salamis class cruiser

[yamatonerd2199]

Salamis-class cruisers in action. From one of the various gundam side story manga, I can’t for the life of me remember which. 

[altaaroth]

[yamatonerd2199]

Gundam The Origin Vehicle Analysis- Salamis-class Cruiser

Gundam The Origin Vehicle Analysis- Salamis-class Cruiser

The Salamis-class Cruiser was the workhorse unit of the Earth Federation Forces during, and well beyond, the One Year War. This vessel served as the general-purpose patrol and combat unit of the Federation, carrying out a massive variety of missions. Like their larger siblings the Magellan-class Battleships, the Salamis-class cruisers proved incredibly vulnerable to Zeon Mobile Suits, suffering heavy losses throughout the war. However, unlike the Magellan, the Salamis-class hull proved versatile and easy to refit, and modified versions of the Salamis-class remained in the Earth Federation arsenal as late as U.C. 0153. Due to the large variety of Salamis refit designs and the fact that just about every single anime set in the One Year War has had a slightly different take on the original Salamis-design, I will be focusing on the iteration of the Salamis-class shown in the Gundam The Origin OVAs. Now, onto the analysis.

Propulsion

The Salamis-class is propelled by a single engine of unknown design. This allows the Salamis to move at a respectable speed. For course corrections, a large number of thrusters are mounted throughout the hull.

A number of these thrusters are hidden behind armored hatches until they are needed.

While the Salamis’ engine can propel it at substantial speeds across space, it lacks the power to escape earth’s gravity on its own. For orbital launches, a specially designed booster is attached to the Salamis’ stern.

Armament

The Salamis-class carries a substantial armament for its size. The primary offensive capacity of the vessel lies in six Mega Particle Cannons mounted in single turrets around the hull.

Three of these guns can fire directly forwards and three directly astern, while the side turrets can elevate their barrels enough that four guns can fire along the broadside of the ship.

These weapons are slightly inferior to those of a Musai-class cruiser, but still pack a significant punch.

Along with the Mega Particle Cannons, the Salamis carries a heavy missile armament, with eight missile tubes installed in the bow, an eight-weapon Vertical Launch System behind the dorsal fore Mega Particle Cannon, and two six-missile box launchers behind the side mounted forward Mega Particle Cannons. We never actually get to see the Salamis fire all its missiles on screen at once, but it would be a very pretty sight.

For Anti-Aircraft and later Anti-Mobile Suit combat, the Salamis carries sixteen machine guns in eight twin turrets.

While these weapons were more than sufficient to engage the fighters that existed when the Salamis-class entered service, they lacked the weight of fire to reliably defend against Mobile Suits.

Durability

While the Magellan-class battleships became famous for their extreme survivability, the Salamis-class proved far more fragile. While the vessel could survive one or two hits from a Zaku’s Bazooka or a Musai’s Mega Particle Cannons, the cruiser’s smaller size meant it was substantially easier to destroy than the larger battleships. In some instances, a single bazooka hit in the right place proved enough to take down a Salamis.

Conclusion

While nowhere near as large, impressive, or durable as its larger Magellan-class counterpart, the Salamis-class cruiser’s sheer versatility and adaptability ensured that it remained one of the most successful and iconic warships of the Universal Century for nearly three-quarters of a century past the One Year War. I’ll probably cover one of the two main Salamis refits next, although once again, no promises about when that’s happening.