MA-08 Big Zam
Unit Type Prototype Anti-Fortress Mobile Armor
Profile
Model Number	MA-08
Developed into	AMA-01X Jamru Fin Dogzam GPB-80000BJMA Super Dog-Zam MA-09 Mass Production Type Big Zam
First Seen	December 24, 0079 U.C.
Last Seen	December 24, 0079 U.C.
Manufacturer	Principality of Zeon
Operator	Principality of Zeon
Known Pilots	Dozle Zabi
General Characteristics
Head Height	59.6 meters5,960 cm 2,346.457 in 195.538 ft
Max Weight	1936.0 tons1,756,309.674 kg 3,871,998.946 lb
Standard Weight	1021.2 tons926,417.066 kg 2,042,399.444 lb
Power-plant	4 x Minovsky Ultracompact Fusion Reactor
Power Ouput	35000 kW35 MW 46,935.77 hp each
Sensor Range	134000 meters439,632.547 ft
Accommodation	One commander and two pilots/gunners, in standard cockpit in torso
Movement
Max Acceleration	0.30 G
Propulsion	Rocket thrusters: 580000 kg total
Armaments Large mega particle gun 28 x Anti-aircraft mega particle gun 6 x Air-to-air missile 2 x 105 mm vulcan gun
Special Equipments and Features 2 x I-field barrier generator

The MA-08 Big Zam is a mobile armor developed by the Principality of Zeon in the Mobile Suit Gundam television series. The massive mobile armor was piloted by Dozle Zabi during the Battle of Solomon.

Technology and Combat CharacteristicsEdit

The MA-08 Big Zam is a massive mobile armor in which the designers had completely disregarded the concept of high speed and mobility, which had been the key factor to the success of their mobile suits and other mobile armors, and focused completely on the Big Zam's offensive and defensive capabilities. Approaching the size of a battleship, the MA-08 Big Zam features none of the living quarters or storage areas found on ships designed to operate independently for long periods of time. Instead all of its internal components; including its engine, multiple fusion reactors, armor, I-Field generator, and cockpit; are focused on improving the Big Zam's combat abilities making it a much more efficient and destructive weapon.

The massive, oblong body was supported by two legs and dwarfed mobile suits in size, as it stood 60 meters in height and weighed close to 2000 tons when fully loaded. Its forward-mounted mega particle gun could destroy several battleships with a single shot, and the body also housed twenty eight smaller particle guns that could lay down 360 degrees of fire. For additional protection, should a mobile weapon get inside the range of the twenty-eight particle guns, the claws on the Big Zam's feet are actually air-to-air missiles that can easily crush any of the Earth Federation's mobile weapons.

Because of its size and poor maneuverability, it had an I-Field installed on its underbelly to protect it from beam weapons, and it relied on its bulk to survive projectile attacks. All of this equipment required four large powerplants to operate, and as a result, Big Zam overheated quickly and could not be used for more than 20 minutes in battle.

ArmamentsEdit

• Large Mega Particle Gun

The primary weapon of the MA-08 Big Zam is a massive mega particle gun that sits prominently in the center of the MA-08 Big Zam's body. This mega particle gun draws a vast amount of energy from the four fusion reactors, allowing it to fire a massive mega particle beam that can destroy multiple battleships in a single shot. It is the most powerful weapon used by any mobile weapon or battleship, second only to the superweapons employed by both sides.

• Anti-Aircraft Mega Particle Gun

The main secondary weapons of the MA-08 Big Zam are twenty-eight anti-aircraft mega particle guns that line the middle of the Big Zam's torso, completely encircling it with a break for the large mega particle gun. The positioning of the anti-aircraft mega particle guns, and their higher firing rate, provides the Big Zam with 360-degree defense against smaller more maneuverable mobile weapons, such as mobile suits, which can avoid the large mega particle gun's beam. However their positioning is also a weakness because if a mobile suit can get directly above, below, or simply gets close enough to the armor, they will be out of the anti-aircraft mega particle guns' targeting range.

• Air-to-Air Missile

To protect one of the Big Zam's undercarriage, a blind spot not covered by the mega particle guns, the Big Zam is outfitted with 6 large air-to-air missiles disguised as claws on the mobile suit's feet. These massive air-to-air missiles are almost the size of a mobile suit and are not explosive in nature. Instead the missiles are designed to crush enemy machines with their size and mass.

• 105mm Vulcan Gun

A tertiary weapon fitted in the main body of the MA-08 Big Zam are a pair of shell-firing 105mm vulcan guns, placed to cover a blind spot not protected by the mega particle guns. Though larger than most vulcan guns, the Big Zam's 105mm vulcan guns, the first vulcan guns to be used in a Zeon mobile weapon, can still only deliver light damage to the armor of a mobile suit and are better suited for shooting down lightly armored targets such as missiles.

Special EquipmentEdit

• I-Field Barrier Generator

When Minovsky particles are released into the air or into open space, the positive and negative particles spontaneously align themselves into a three-dimensional cubic lattice. Due to the repulsive and electrostatic forces between the Minovsky particles, this lattice functions as a kind of a force field, which is referred to as an I-field. This field has difficulty permeating conductive materials like metal, water, and plasma, and it exerts a repulsive force against mega particles. An I field is used to to deflect enemy mega particle beams. Due to its high power requirements, the I-field generator originally could only be installed in large mobile weapons. When the generator is activated, the I-field forms an invisible barrier around the mobile weapon, protecting it from incoming beam attacks. However, this barrier has no effect against solid objects like missiles and projectiles, and beam weapons can still be used at point blank range within the barrier's boundary.

HistoryEdit

As the One Year War dragged on between Zeon and the Earth Federation, the Zeon strategy began to shift from the deployment of mobile suit squadrons to the development of a new type of unit called a Mobile Armour. Mobile armours could approach battleship size and could thus house certain systems, such as the psycommu system and I-Field, that were impossible to fit on mobile suits due to size, weight, and power issues. Zeon's plan during the closing phases of the war was to overwhelm the Federation with mobile armors.

The MA-08 Big Zam was developed at A Baoa Qu and was sent to Space Fortress Solomon for Space Attack Force Commander Dozle Zabi when Zeon learned of the impending attack of the Federation Space Force on Solomon.

Big Zam was first deployed as Solomon's last line of defense during the Battle of Solomon on December 24, UC 0079. Dozle and two co-pilots attacked the Federation space force that was attempting to land on the base, wiping out numerous RGM-79 GM and RB-79 Ball units before taking flight to attack the Federation fleet. The attacks went smoothly and several battleships were sunk before the Big Zam was confronted by the Federation's most powerful mobile suit, the RX-78-2 Gundam piloted by emerging Newtype Amuro Ray. Making his attack run docked with the G-Fighter piloted by Sleggar Law, Amuro was able to attack Big Zam from within the I-Field's defensive perimeter, dealing heavy damage to the undercarriage. He then finished the Big Zam off with Gundam's beam saber, destroying the unit and effectively ending Zeon resistance at Solomon.

There also exists the MA-09 Mass Production Type Big Zam which first appeared in the SD Gundam G Generation game. This mass production type was much smaller than its ancestor and armed with only a smaller mega particle cannon and missile launchers. It also lacked the I-Field barrier and used weaker anti-beam coating for protection. However, the smaller size also made it much more suitable to operate on Earth.

There is a slightly modified version of the Big Zam in the game Gihren no Yabou: Axis no Kyoui V. The specs for it are more or less the same. The only difference is that it has ornate gold engravings and trim all over its frame, just like Dozle's customized Zaku.

VariantsEdit

• MA-04L Big Zam L Type
• MA-08-2 Big Zam Kai
• MA-08ex Big Zam Kai "Humpty Dumpty"
• MA-08S Big Zam Zabi Family Custom
• MA-09 Mass Production Type Big Zam
• OMAX-01 Grand Zam
• Dogzam

GalleryEdit

Big Zam Size Compared To Other Unit

Super Deformed(SD) Big Zam

Big Zam VS RX 78-2 Gundam and Char Zaku 2

SD MA-08 Big Zam as it appear in SD Gundam G Generation Wars

Add a photo to this galleryAdd a photo to this gallery

External LinksEdit

• Big Zam on MAHQ