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The Zoellugut-class 1st Class Astro Combat Vessel is a super dreadnought class and the largest and most powerful regular warship in the fleet of the Greater Garmillan Empire.
It was developed following the orders and naval doctrine of Imperial Marshall Herm Zoellik, the General Inspector of the Central Army.
Few vessels of the class saw action during the Great Garmillas War and the Garmillas civil war during the Desler administration, but many more were deployed during the Gatlantis Campaign where they played a central role, being responsible for most Walls of Garmillas Subject used during the conflict.
Armaments and Technical Specifications[]
The Zoellugut-class is heavily armed with multiple positron beam weapons and multiple torpedo tubes. The super dreadnoughts are well armored, especially in the bow. One superdreadnought was able to harmlessly deflect a shock cannon volley aimed directly at its forward section, a blast that would have seriously crippled or destroyed other ship classes in the Garmillas fleet; the port side of the dreadnought took significant but not fatal damage from the same weapon, but only when it was fired at point blank range.[1] However, these ships are vulnerable to the Gatlantis Empire's Flame Strike Gun.[5]
The bridge section of the Zoellugut-class can detach and operate as an autonomous command vessel. Among its capabilities, the bridge section is equipped with harpoons and grappling arms that can firmly hold the ship in place to another object. It is also armed with a self-destruct device, which is activated by the senior officer's command code and voice recognition.[6] Escape pods are available to evacuate super dreadnought crews.[6]
Despite their rarity in the imperial fleet, Zoellugut-class vessels share a number of traits with other Garmillas capital ships, including Gesh Tam Engines and diverse hull colors.[7][8][9][10]
Zoellugut-class vessels with new design features entered service in the Garmillas fleet by 2202. All newer super dreadnought hulls are painted with complex geometric patterns. Additionally, ships of the class can be fitted with massive, maneuverable Walls of Garmillas Subject placed just ahead of the bow. These shields provide limited safety from a single burst of a Flame Strike Gun, comparable to the defense offered by wave motion shields on Earth vessels. However, the upgraded Zoellugut class proves ineffective against the firepower of one of the newest Gatlantean classes, the Calaklum-class battleship.[10]
History[]
Origins and the Great Garmillas War[]
Domelaze III rises from the Garmillas base on Balun.
The class was designed under orders by Imperial Marshall Herm Zoellik, whose naval philosophy pushed for large ships armed with great firepower.[11] The first Zoellugut-class 1st Class Astro Combat Vessels were meant to be deployed into hostile territory and be used as space fortresses after occupation.[12][13]
At least seven[14] Zoellugut super dreadnoughts were in service in the year 2199. Of these, the gray hulled Domelaze III was the most active in combat. The Battle of the Small Magellanic Cloud Outskirts against a Gatlantean fleet was won by Vice Admiral Erich Domel using Domelaze III as his flagship, with Colonel Vem Heidern as the ship's captain.[15] The vessel later engaged the Earth battleship Yamato on two occasions, first at the First Battle against Domel[1] , only to be defeated almost two months later at the Battle of the Rainbow Star Cluster. In this last fight, Domel and Heidern evacuated the doomed main hull of Domelaze III in the ship's autonomous bridge unit, and made a suicide charge against Yamato using the self-destruct option.[6]
Deusura I functioned as the personal spacecraft of the ruler of the Greater Garmillan Empire, Abelt Desler. Clad in the blue color of the Imperial Guard fleet, Desura was operated by Imperial Guard personnel, and featured a bridge decorated in gold to match Desler's throne room. During a voyage to the planet Balun, Desura suffered a catastrophic engine overload in an assassination attempt against Desler.[1]
The bridge unit of Zoellugut II, mounted to the ship's bridge tower. The bridge itself is the dome at the top of the disk.
Shortly after the apparent death of Desler, Inspector General Herm Zoellik traveled to a massive naval review at Balun aboard his own red Zoellugut-class ship, Zoellugut II[9] While at Balun, the dreadnought escaped the devastation created in a surprise attack by Yamato, and it and three thousand surviving ships began a months-long journey to Garmillas.[16] It was destroyed by a Gatlantis assault during the voyage.[5]
Between wars[]
After the end of the Great Garmillas War there remained only four Zoellugut-class 1st Class Astro Combat Vessels. Since they had been built before the adoption of the Instantaneous Material Transporter and with the idea of serving as fortresses in occupied territory,[13] they were considered outdated by 2202.[12]
Of the four, three Zoellugut-class vessels equipped with Walls of Garmillas Subject fought at the 8th Floating Continet Recapture Operation as part of a large joint Garmillas-Earth task force in December of 2202;[17] two of the three were sunk during the battle.[10] The fourth super dreadnought was stolen by members of the Destruction Liberation Army, a rebel organization, and used in their campaign to purge the Garmillas Empire of all traces of the legacy of former Supreme Leader Abelt Desler, and was sunk on December 29 of 2202[17] during the Battle on Planet Stravase.[18][19]
The Gatlantis Campaign and beyond[]
Three Zoellugut-classes during the Gatlantis War
By the beginning of the Gatlantis Campaign in May of 2203, new ships of the class had been constructed. More than twenty Zoellugut-class vessels joined in the defense of the solar system against Gatlantis at the end of the Battle of Saturn and at the Decisive Battle off Mars, including a gray-hulled super dreadnought under the command of Ambassador Loren Burrell.[20][21]
Six Zoelluguts painted in "noble blue" were part of the Desler fleet by the end of 2203. [22]
In October 2205, a yellow-hulled Zoellugut was used by Admiral Gul Ditz as his personal flagship during his stay at planet Garmann following its liberation.[23]
Ships of the class[]
- Kerberos I[10]
- Kerberos II[10]
- Kerberos III[10]
- Deusura I[1]
- Zoellugut II[16]
- Domelaze III[1]
- Guru's Zoellugut[18]
- Ambassador Loren Burrell's Zoellugut[21]
- Admiral Gul Ditz's Zoellugut[23]
Gallery[]
Behind the scenes[]
All Zoellugut-class vessels that appear in Star Blazers 2202, along with the Walls of Garmillan Subject, were an idea conceived by Deputy Director Makoto Kobayashi and were added after the final draft of the script. As such they do not appear in the early script. Writer Harutoshi Fukui stated that he was surprised when he first saw the ship in the storyboards.[24]
All of the Zoellugut-class ships ships that appear in Star Blazers 2202 are decorated with a distinctive pattern often associated with the ancient Archelias civilization. According to Makoto Kobayashi, the pattern was originally designed during the production of Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark as a space map indicating the location of the planet Terezart.[25]
It was created by Star Blazers 2199 general director Yutaka Izubuchi, who intended it as a hint for a planned sequel to 2199. Although the concept of the map and its connection to Terezart were ultimately dropped, the pattern was later adopted in 2202, despite there being no canonical link between Archelias and Terezart. The first Zoellugut featuring this design was published in Makoto Kobayashi’s model magazine Scale Aviation—prior to the release of Odyssey of the Celestial Ark. Kobayashi noted that he had been asked to create a design that would help promote and sell Zoellugut-class plastic model kits.[26]
The official english name "Zoellugut-class 1st Class Astro Combat Vessel" can be seen on bandai sets[27] and on screen.[20]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Point of No Return"
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 Yamato 2199 mecha data on the Zoelguut-Class
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Yuunagi's screen in "AD 2202 - Revive, Space Battleship Yamato"
- ↑ Official Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Garmillas Mecha Book p. 34
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Under a Rainbow Sun"
- ↑ "The Wolf from Another Dimension"
- ↑ "Point of No Return"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Out of the Forest of Memory"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 "AD 2202 - Revive, Space Battleship Yamato"
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Complete Works Vol.2 p.216
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Great Mechanic G, Spring 2017 issue
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 @makomako713, March 20, 2017
- ↑ The four detailed in Great Mechanics G (spring 2017) and the three appearing in "A World I Once Saw", "Point of No Return", "Out of the Forest of Memory"
- ↑ "A World I Once Saw"
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Over the Black Light"
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Star Blazers Chronicle 2202
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "The Trap at Planet Stravase!"
- ↑ "Zworder, the Devil's Alternative"
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Heir to the Yamato, Her Name is Ginga"
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Escape from the Nightmare!"
- ↑ "Earth, Yamato is..."
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Galactic War is About to Begin! Assemble the Yamato Fleet!"
- ↑ "Five things you shouldn't miss: The first 12 minutes of Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love are available for free!"
- ↑ @makomako713 on Twitter.com December 16, 2016
- ↑ @makomako713 on twitter.com, December 16, 2016
- ↑ Bandai 1/1000 Domelaze set
Japanese language information[]
ゼルグート級一等航宙戦闘艦 Zerugūto-kyū ittō kōchū sentō-kan