White Base
Encyclopedia
The White Base is a fictional spaceship
from the Japanese science fiction anime series Mobile Suit Gundam
. It serves as the mothership of the protagonist crew members and the famous mobile suit Gundam. Various spin offs are designed after it, including a whole class of ships called the Pegasus-class assault carrier, and it has inspired ships in the sequels like the Argama class in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
and Archangel class in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
.
, however, it is not specially designed for the anime series Gundam, it was actually a salvaged design from the anime Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3
. The idea of having a space carrier from the director Yoshiyuki Tomino
is partly inspired by the earlier science fiction anime Space Battleship Yamato
, in which he claimed to be a fan of. It was intended to be in a more realistic black colour, but was changed to white by the order of Sunrise
, similar to the colour change of the main mecha Gundam was changed from a grayish white to white, red, blue and yellow. Director Tomino showed great disgust in the colour change, also noticing the unrealistic non-aerodynamic design of it after the show was on air, said in an interview that such design would never appeared in the real world, since it would be a sitting duck from fighter aircraft. Tomino still held a grudge 10 years after the show aired and stated in an interview in Newtype
1989 April issue that the imaginary enemies of Gundam are Sunrise, sponsors and television stations.
-oriented Earth Federation Space Forces
was caught completely by surprise when the Principality of Zeon deployed the agile mobile suits against their fleets. The Federation military quickly realized that they would also need mobile suits if they were to have any chance of victory, and instituted the famed Project V
in order to develop a mass-production mobile suit design. The Federation also realized that their existing line of warships lacked mobile suit transport and support capacity, and thus desperately in need of designs capable of mobile warfare. A new revolutionary warship class exclusively designed for MS combat and support was born—the Pegasus class. One of the first Pegasus-class ships to enter service was the White Base.
Launched in September UC 0079, the White Base was immediately sent to retrieve the Federation's new mobile suit prototypes from Side 7's secret research facility for field-testing. In the middle of this mission, the ship unexpectedly found herself tailed by a Zeon special combat unit led by Char Aznable
. When the Zeon forces launched surprise attack on the colony, heavy casualties were inflicted among both the colony's civilian population and White Bases regular personnel. In the middle of the battle, civilian Amuro Ray
activated the RX-78-2 Gundam unit in sheer desperation and repulsed the Zeon attack. The surviving crew and the civilian refugees then boarded the White Base and went on a long journey to plagued by Zeon hostilities.
The White Base first landed at Luna II, home of the remaining Earth Federal Space Force fleet, where she was promptly seized by the base commander, who proceeded to interrogate the crew, militia and civilian survivors on board. In the middle of this interrogation, Char, searching for the White Base, led an infiltration attack on Luna II by mining the port entrance. White Base managed to escape from Luna II, and sailed next for Earth under the command of a young Bright Noa
.
Upon making contact with the Federation's Earth Forces under the command of General Revil
, the White Base was drawn into a battle in the ruins of Seattle, in which they shot down a Zeon Gaw-class heavy carrier containing Garma Zabi (who was maneuvered into an ambush by Char).
The White Base then proceeded to meet up with Revil's forces that were assembling for Operation Odessa. Along the trek through Asia, the White Base was hunted by a Zeon special forces unit under the command of Ramba Ral. Eventually meeting up with the Federation forces, the White Base participated in Operation Odessa, helping to break the back of the Zeon forces on Earth. White Base then restocked and refueled in Belfast before traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to Jaburo.
White Base arrived and docked at Jaburo, the Federation's main base and mobile suit manufacturing facility located underground in South America. Unfortunately, they ended up leading Char's Mad Angler unit to Jaburo, at which point he attempted an infiltration, which was repelled.
Following the failed Zeon raid on Jaburo, the White Base was re-launched into space, re-designated the 13th Autonomous Mobile Squadron, and sent to Side 6 in a diversionary move aimed at drawing off Zeon forces from Solomon. This mission would solidify the fame of White Base as Zeon's worst nightmare, as this single ship managed to surprise everyone by repeatedly knocking out heavyweight Zeon fleet commanders. Additionally, the unrivaled performance of Amuro Ray (including the televised Side 6 battle where he took down 9 Rick Doms within merely 3 minutes) earned the ship crew the nickname "Newtype
Corps". With much of Zeon's attention being fixed on hunting down the "Trojan Horse
", the Federation gained crucial strategic time to complete the deployment of its new Vinson Plan space armada, together with their new RGM-79 GM
mass-fielded. After eliminating the Conscon Fleet, the White Base rendezvoused with the remaining ships in the space force, and participated in the Battle of Solomon and in the Battle of A Baoa Qu.
During the battle at A Baoa Qu, the White Base became a rally point for the surviving ships in Admiral Revil's fleet after Gihren Zabi
unleashed the Solar Ray, a gigantic colony laser. Assisted by other ships, White Base spearheaded an assault against one of A Baoa Qu's S defensive lines. During the battle, White Base sustained critical damage and was forced to crash-land into a space port of the asteroid stronghold, and immediately became a hotspot for hostile assaults. The grounded White Base was eventually destroyed from intense enemy attacks, although its entire surviving crew evacuated the ship in time.
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
from the Japanese science fiction anime series Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam
is a televised anime series, created by Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes...
. It serves as the mothership of the protagonist crew members and the famous mobile suit Gundam. Various spin offs are designed after it, including a whole class of ships called the Pegasus-class assault carrier, and it has inspired ships in the sequels like the Argama class in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
is a television anime, part of the Gundam series and a sequel to the original Mobile Suit Gundam. The show was created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, with character designs by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, while the series' mechanical designs is split amongst Kunio Okawara, Mamoru Nagano, and Kazumi Fujita...
and Archangel class in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
is an anime series developed by Sunrise and directed by Mitsuo Fukuda. As with other series from the Gundam franchise, Gundam SEED takes place in a parallel timeline, in this case the Cosmic Era, the first to do so...
.
Development
The White Base is designed with a 3 plane view method by Kunio OkawaraKunio Okawara
is a mechanical designer in the Japanese anime industry. A mechanical designer is similar to a character designer, but the design is for robots, ships, and other mechanical items found in a particular show. Okawara was the first in the industry to be specifically credited as a mechanical designer...
, however, it is not specially designed for the anime series Gundam, it was actually a salvaged design from the anime Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3
Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3
is an anime series created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yatate, and produced by Sunrise. It was first broadcast on Japanese TV in 1978. The series lasted for 40 episodes. The opening theme Come Here! Daitarn 3 is sung by Makoto Fujiwara...
. The idea of having a space carrier from the director Yoshiyuki Tomino
Yoshiyuki Tomino
is a Japanese mecha anime creator, director, screenwriter and novelist. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University's College of Art...
is partly inspired by the earlier science fiction anime Space Battleship Yamato
Space Battleship Yamato
is a Japanese science fiction anime series featuring an eponymous spacecraft. It is also known to English-speaking audiences as Space Cruiser Yamato; an English-dubbed and heavily edited version of the series was broadcast on North American and Australian television as Star Blazers...
, in which he claimed to be a fan of. It was intended to be in a more realistic black colour, but was changed to white by the order of Sunrise
Sunrise (company)
is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise. It is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings. Its former name was Nippon Sunrise, and prior to that, Sunrise Studios...
, similar to the colour change of the main mecha Gundam was changed from a grayish white to white, red, blue and yellow. Director Tomino showed great disgust in the colour change, also noticing the unrealistic non-aerodynamic design of it after the show was on air, said in an interview that such design would never appeared in the real world, since it would be a sitting duck from fighter aircraft. Tomino still held a grudge 10 years after the show aired and stated in an interview in Newtype
Newtype (magazine)
is a monthly magazine publication originating from Japan, covering anime and manga . It was launched by publishing company Kadokawa Shoten on March 8, 1985 with its April issue, and has since seen regular release on the 10th of every month in its home country...
1989 April issue that the imaginary enemies of Gundam are Sunrise, sponsors and television stations.
Fictional history
At the outbreak of the One Year War, the DreadnoughtDreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
-oriented Earth Federation Space Forces
Earth Federation
The is a fictional organization in the Universal Century timeline of the Gundam anime series. The name also made a reappearance outside of the Gundam series in following media.* Godzilla vs...
was caught completely by surprise when the Principality of Zeon deployed the agile mobile suits against their fleets. The Federation military quickly realized that they would also need mobile suits if they were to have any chance of victory, and instituted the famed Project V
Project V
The Project V was a fictional weapon development program in the mecha anime Mobile Suit Gundam-Background History:...
in order to develop a mass-production mobile suit design. The Federation also realized that their existing line of warships lacked mobile suit transport and support capacity, and thus desperately in need of designs capable of mobile warfare. A new revolutionary warship class exclusively designed for MS combat and support was born—the Pegasus class. One of the first Pegasus-class ships to enter service was the White Base.
Launched in September UC 0079, the White Base was immediately sent to retrieve the Federation's new mobile suit prototypes from Side 7's secret research facility for field-testing. In the middle of this mission, the ship unexpectedly found herself tailed by a Zeon special combat unit led by Char Aznable
Char Aznable
, born is a fictional character from the Gundam franchise. He is originally one of the main antagonists in Mobile Suit Gundam and later becomes one of the protagonists of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. In his final appearance in Char's Counterattack, he assumes leadership of the Neo Zeon movement,...
. When the Zeon forces launched surprise attack on the colony, heavy casualties were inflicted among both the colony's civilian population and White Bases regular personnel. In the middle of the battle, civilian Amuro Ray
Amuro Ray
is a fictional character from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam and its sequels, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Char's Counterattack, voiced by Tōru Furuya , Brad Swaile , Michael Lindsay and Matthew Erickson is a fictional character from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam and its sequels, Mobile...
activated the RX-78-2 Gundam unit in sheer desperation and repulsed the Zeon attack. The surviving crew and the civilian refugees then boarded the White Base and went on a long journey to plagued by Zeon hostilities.
The White Base first landed at Luna II, home of the remaining Earth Federal Space Force fleet, where she was promptly seized by the base commander, who proceeded to interrogate the crew, militia and civilian survivors on board. In the middle of this interrogation, Char, searching for the White Base, led an infiltration attack on Luna II by mining the port entrance. White Base managed to escape from Luna II, and sailed next for Earth under the command of a young Bright Noa
Bright Noa
is a fictional character from the Japanese science fiction anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam and the related films. In the anime, he is only mentioned as Earth-born...
.
Upon making contact with the Federation's Earth Forces under the command of General Revil
General Revil
In the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime, General Revil is one of the Earth Federation's leading Space Force commanders...
, the White Base was drawn into a battle in the ruins of Seattle, in which they shot down a Zeon Gaw-class heavy carrier containing Garma Zabi (who was maneuvered into an ambush by Char).
The White Base then proceeded to meet up with Revil's forces that were assembling for Operation Odessa. Along the trek through Asia, the White Base was hunted by a Zeon special forces unit under the command of Ramba Ral. Eventually meeting up with the Federation forces, the White Base participated in Operation Odessa, helping to break the back of the Zeon forces on Earth. White Base then restocked and refueled in Belfast before traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to Jaburo.
White Base arrived and docked at Jaburo, the Federation's main base and mobile suit manufacturing facility located underground in South America. Unfortunately, they ended up leading Char's Mad Angler unit to Jaburo, at which point he attempted an infiltration, which was repelled.
Following the failed Zeon raid on Jaburo, the White Base was re-launched into space, re-designated the 13th Autonomous Mobile Squadron, and sent to Side 6 in a diversionary move aimed at drawing off Zeon forces from Solomon. This mission would solidify the fame of White Base as Zeon's worst nightmare, as this single ship managed to surprise everyone by repeatedly knocking out heavyweight Zeon fleet commanders. Additionally, the unrivaled performance of Amuro Ray (including the televised Side 6 battle where he took down 9 Rick Doms within merely 3 minutes) earned the ship crew the nickname "Newtype
Newtype
A Newtype is theorized to be the next stage of human evolution in the fictional Gundam universe. This minor but groundbreaking metamorphosis is usually expressed as a heightened mental awareness, the result of an evolutionary adaptation to life in space....
Corps". With much of Zeon's attention being fixed on hunting down the "Trojan Horse
Trojan Horse
The Trojan Horse is a tale from the Trojan War about the stratagem that allowed the Greeks finally to enter the city of Troy and end the conflict. In the canonical version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside...
", the Federation gained crucial strategic time to complete the deployment of its new Vinson Plan space armada, together with their new RGM-79 GM
RGM-79 GM
The , supposedly an acronym of Gundam Mass-production type, is the mass-produced version of the RX-78 Gundam. Though many variants were produced over the years, the RGM-79 GM was the Federation's first true mass-produced mobile suit...
mass-fielded. After eliminating the Conscon Fleet, the White Base rendezvoused with the remaining ships in the space force, and participated in the Battle of Solomon and in the Battle of A Baoa Qu.
During the battle at A Baoa Qu, the White Base became a rally point for the surviving ships in Admiral Revil's fleet after Gihren Zabi
Gihren Zabi
is a fictional character, and antagonist from the universe of the Gundam anime series. He was voiced by the veteran seiyu, Banjo Ginga in the original Japanese version. In the English dubbed series and movie adaptations the character was voiced by Hiro Kanagawa and Doug Stone respectively.American...
unleashed the Solar Ray, a gigantic colony laser. Assisted by other ships, White Base spearheaded an assault against one of A Baoa Qu's S defensive lines. During the battle, White Base sustained critical damage and was forced to crash-land into a space port of the asteroid stronghold, and immediately became a hotspot for hostile assaults. The grounded White Base was eventually destroyed from intense enemy attacks, although its entire surviving crew evacuated the ship in time.
See also
- List of Mobile Suits
- Minovsky Physics
- One Year WarOne Year WarThe is a fictional conflict from the Universal Century timeline of the anime Mobile Suit Gundam metaseries. The One Year War is very similar to World War II, the major difference being that The One Year War is in a science fiction setting and some major battles occurred in space...
- Universal CenturyUniversal Centuryis the original timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries. The official English name U.C. is often used instead in recent production like MS Igloo and Master Grade model instructions and official pages is the original timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries. The official English name U.C....