MS-07B Gouf Classic by ironscythe on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

"This is no Zaku, boy!"--Ramba Ral, ace Zeon pilot.

With those words, the first Gouf entered combat with the RX-78-2 Gundam. Amuro Ray, pilot of the Gundam, soon discovered that Ramba Ral couldn't have been more correct in his statement. The Gouf was a fast, strong, and utterly vicious mobile suit. Its electrified extending "Heat Rod" shot out from the Gouf's right wrist, wrapped around the Gundam's body, overheating and shorting out systems while simultaneously constricting and crushing the Gundam's armor. The Gouf's left hand proved to be just as dangerous, as each finger (including the thumb) was actually the barrel of a 75mm machinegun. When all five barrels fired at once, the result was devastating. As if those two weapons weren't enough, the Gouf carried an extending Heat Saber inside its arm-mounted shield, which could slice through armor as easily as the Gundam's Beam Saber did. When Amuro finally got a lock with the Gundam's beam rifle, the Gouf ignited its leg-mounted jet thrusters and simply jumped out of the way. It's no wonder that Amuro was caught off-guard by the Gouf's abilities.

The battle described above was the first actual combat seen by the new MS-07B Gouf. The machine piloted by Ramba Ral was in fact the first B-type Gouf to be produced. In combat with the Gundam, the machine proved its worth as a new ground-combat machine to replace the old MS-06J Zaku II. Mass-production began shortly thereafter, and the units were spread to nearly every corner of the globe where fighting took place. The Gouf's versatility proved to be quite high as well, as many units were seen on the battlefield carrying Zaku machineguns and bazookas. Some were even reported to have two machinegun hands.

Despite the obvious improvement in performance over the MS-06J, production of the Gouf was halted in favor of a newer, even more agile ground-combat mobile suit: the MS-09 Dom.