Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team

Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team is a 12 episode anime OVA series from Sunrise studios. Set during the One Year War (the conflict depicted in the original 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam series), The 08th MS Team focuses on an Earth Federation Army squad tasked with rooting out Zeon forces deep in Southeast Asia using a small force of Gundam-type mobile suits. The series draws heavily from American war films (frequently using Vietnam War motifs due to the setting) and takes a much more realistic approach the concept of mobile suits; the 08th's Team's mobile suit force consists largely of RX-79[G] Ground Type Gundams, which are built from parts left over from Project V (the program that developed the original RX-78 Gundam) and are shown as needing constant repair and maintenance due to both combat damage and the wear caused by the machine-unfriendly environment.
A followup movie, Mobile Suit Gundam: 08th MS Team - Miller's Report, was released in 1998 and uses a combination of clips from the OVA and some new footage to depict an E.F. intelligence officer sent to investigate allegations of espionage within the 08th.
__TOC__
=Pistols=
==Earth Federation Force Standard Issue Pistol==
The Earth Federation Force Standard Issue Pistol (called M71A1 in some sources) is seen with Shiro Amada and other EFA soldiers in the series. Earth Federation intelligence officer Alice Miller in the Miller's Report special. From time to time, anti-Zeon guerrillas also use them as their sidearm.
This is the standard sidearm of the EFF in the Universal Century era and features an external hammer and a slide-mounted safety switch.
thumb|none|400px|Airsoft replica of the Earth Federation Force Standard Issue Pistol as seen in the Gundam franchise. This is a conversion kit for the Maruzen PPK/S airsoft gun.
==Mauser C96==
An anti-Zeon guerrilla fighter is seen with a Mauser C96 handgun during an attack on a Zeon Earth Attack Force base in "The Time Limit on Trust". The barrel appears to be shorter and heavier than the real C96's barrel.
==Naban Type 62==
The Naban Type 62 is used by Principality of Zeon personnel as their main sidearm in the Universal Century era. Some of its features are based by the Luger P08 pistol according to Gundam art/dataguide books, which makes sense since Zeon is based on fascist leanings during the Second World War.
==Walther P08==
The Walther P08 was briefly used by Aina in "Reunion" as her main sidearm during her stay on Earth.
==Walther PPK==
A Walther PPK is used by anti-Zeon guerrilla fighter Kiki Rosita as her sidearm, first seen in the middle of "Gundams in the Jungle" when she catches Shiro peeping at her.
=Revolvers=
==Smith & Wesson Model 36==
A Smith & Wesson Model 36 in a stainless finish is used by Admiral Ginias Saharin when he shoots the monitor screen in the ZEAF's mountain fortress in "Duty and Ideals". He uses a possible blued version of it near the end of "The Shuddering Mountain, Part 2" to shoot Aina after she begins to question his rationality.
=Submachine Guns=
==Heckler & Koch MP5K==
When the anti-Zeon guerrillas rush to finish off a damaged MS-05B Zaku I, one guerrilla fighter is seen with a Heckler & Koch MP5K submachine gun.
 
==Zeon Submachine Gun 1==
Zeon Earth Attack Force soldiers and a few anti-Zeon guerrilla fighters carry Zeon Submachine Gun 1s that bare a strong resemblance to the Heckler & Koch MP5A3.
=Assault Rifles=
==M72A1 Assault Rifle==
The M72A1 futuristic bullpup assault rifle is seen in the OP by Earth Federation Army troops, but actually used by guerrilla fighters in The 08th MS Team. Strangely enough, the ZEAF are depicted to use them as their main assault rifle in "The Time Limit on Trust". Other UC timeline series depict this weapon as being the standard-issue EFF assault rifle.
The assault rifle is visually based on the Enfield L85 assault rifle with the addition of an M16A1 carry handle and front sight. It is chambered in 4.8mm, which is a possible shoutout to the prototype 4.85x49mm cartridge.
==Fictional EFSF Assault Rifle==
A fictional EFSF assault rifle is seen used by Shiro during his time in Side 2 near the end of "Reunion" in a flashback.
==Zeon Assault Rifle==
A fictional Zeon-made assault rifle is used by the Zeon Earth Attack Force as their main assault rifle in their Earth campaign throughout the series.
=Shotguns=
==Sawed-off shotgun==
An anti-Zeon guerrilla uses a sawed-off shotgun in "The Time Limit on Trust". The weapon is not drawn with enough detail to determine which (if any) real-world weapon it is based on.
=Machine Guns=
==Browning M2HB==
A Browning M2HB is seen mounted on EFA military vehicles as a secondary weapon in the series.
==M61 Vulcan==
The EFA-controlled Type 74 Hover Truck is armed with a M61 Vulcan cannon mounted via a one-man open-top turret.
=Rocket Launchers=
==BGM-71 TOW==
An anti-Zeon guerrilla uses a BGM-71 TOW to ambush a retreating MS-06JC Zaku II in the middle of "Duty and Ideals".
==Carl Gustav M2==
A Carl Gustav M2 recoilless rifle is used by anti-Zeon guerrillas after one of the Zeon mobile suit pilots, Ash, nearly kills Kiki and threatens the villagers in "Duty and Ideals".
==M72 LAW==
When a squad of Zakus descend on the village where the guerrilla forces are hiding, one anti-Zeon guerrilla tries to get an unused LAW hidden in a bunch of potato sacks before Kiki stops him in "Duty and Ideals".
==Fictionalized Norinco Type 69==
A fictionalized Norinco Type 69 (with an optical sight instead of iron sights, a slightly altered tube, and the carry handle removed) is used by an anti-Zeon guerrilla to down a Zaku II in "Duty and Ideals".
==Fictional Collapsible Rocket Launcher==
Shiro Amada and several of the anti-Zeon guerrillas use a collapsible rocket launcher. The weapon posesses many of the same features as the M72 LAW and the M141 SMAW-D.
==Fictional Rocket Launcher==
Another fictional rocket launcher, this one with a heat shield mounted to the front of the weapon, is used by guerrillas while raiding a Zeon base in "The Time Limit on Trust".
=Grenades=
==M26 Grenade==
A M26 grenade is seen in the OP sequence of the OVA series.
==M67 Grenade==
A M67 grenade is seen on top of a birthday cake in the OP sequence of the OVA series. Ginias uses one to destroy the mountain fortress' command chair and execute the drugged scientists near the end of "The Shuddering Mountain, Part 1".
==Unknown Grenade==
An anti-Zeon guerrilla has a couple of grenades attached on his vest in the series. The way it's animated makes it hard to determine.
=Mortars=
==Type 89 "Knee Mortar"==
The anti-Zeon guerrillas use several Type 89 knee mortars to launch grappling lines in "The Time Limit on Trust".
Category:Anime
Category:Drama
Category:Japanese Produced/Filmed
Category:Science-Fiction
Category:War