| ZEON SUPPORT CRAFT Magella Attack Tank |
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| Information: Name: Magella Role: Attack Tank Armaments: 175mm high-velocity sabot gun 35mm machinegun x3 smoke discharger x10 Operator: Duchy of Zeon Additional pictures: Two Magellas firing their sabots A Magella's smoke dischargers A Magella's turret in flight Three Magellas using Hull Down Closeup of a Hull Down Magella |
| The other component of the Zeon ground army, the Magella Attack Tank is a much newer design than the Federation's old Type 61, and it shows. Inside of being armed with a traditional cannon, the Magella Attack Tank is equipped with a 175mm high velocity sabot cannon for extra penetration damage. This is manifested when a single round from a Magella's railgun blasts the Federation's Ez-8's shield neatly in half. The cannon works by using a sort of advanced rifling in the barrel, as well as actual rockets in the shell as well to propel a shell at extremely high speed. The shell moves so quickly that regular explosive warheads are not necessary to inflict damage; the kinetic speed of the shell does all that is necessary. Aside from the sabot gun, Magella's are also armed with a three forward mounted 35mm machineguns for mowing down infantry and to consfuse enemy mobile suits. Designed to function in tandem with Zaku or Dom mobile suits, Magella Attack Tanks can still preform well on their own, especially when using an old World War II stratgey called "Hull Down". Hull Down involves having a hole dug in the dirt that the tank can drive into, thus only exposing its turret to enemy fire and making a small target silhouette. The other plus for the Magella over the Type 61 is its excellent pilot survivability rate thanks to its detachable turret. The turret is mounted on a platform above the main tank's body. If the tank is disabled or pilot is in need of an emergency get-away, the turret can actually detach from the main body and maintain several minutes of flight before needing to land. Although the railgun can be fired in this mode, it is not reccommended as the recoil can knock the flying turret out of the air, not to mention the poor accuracy while airborne. Although still a simple tank, it gains respect in the Federation ranks, and in the hands of a good pilot, a Magella can inflict a good amount of damage against enemy mobile suits. |