GT25's Battle Series: Gotengo Mk 2 vs. Raider I-Class Corvette

The Gotengo Mark II, Earth Defense Force, and any related material is owned by Toho Co., Ltd. The Raider I-Class Corvette, the Galactic Empire, and any related material is owned by the Walt Disney Company, Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC, and George Lucas.

G'day, and welcome to the nineth installment of the Battle Series. Using this series, we will take two warriors from across the multiple fictional universes and pit them into a hypothesized battle of death to see who would win. However, this time we're doing things differently as we will be analyzing two vehicles to see which one would emerge victorious. For the second vehicle battle of the series, we will analyze the multi-purpose warship of the Earth Defense Force against the anti-fighter corvette of the Galactic Empire. To ensure that neither vehicle has an advantage, it will be assumed that both vehicles are manned by equally competant crews. For this battle, I will analyze the size, engines/speed, armor/shielding, pilots/controls, armament, countermeasures, and advantages/disadvantages of both vehicles. Due to how these vehicles aren't well known, I will provide a bit of background for these vessels to have everyone on the same page.


History of the Vehicle

Created by the Earth Defense Force in the mid 20th century, the Gotengo was used to battle against the kaiju known as Godzilla in the Antarctica. After burying the kaiju when he fell into a pit created from an earthquake, the Gotengo imprisoned the kaiju and would later be refurbished for continued use as the Gotengo Mark II in the 21st century. Once it dealt with the kaiju Manda and returned to its station, it didn't see service again until the Xiliens when they start attacking and sets out to release Godzilla. Upon doing so, the warship leads the kaiju back to the Xilien Mothership before destroying it and ending the Xilien invasion.


When a starship designer noted a lack of vehicles to compliment the Imperial Tie fighters in the interception of Rebel starfighter, she designed and presented a vessel to fill this tactical breach and the resulting Raider I-Class Corvette was put into production in 6 BBY. Soon after being put into production, the starship was considered useful in the Outer Rim Territories by the Empire thanks to its hyperdrive. Now when dealing with the Rebel's preferred tactics during the Galactic Civil War, the ship gave Imperial officers an opportunity to counter these tactics and saw success in its role. While it was used to test a prototype TIE Advanced x1 in these territories, the corvette worked well with the starfighter despite the prototype proving to be too costly for mass production.


Size

The Gotengo Mark II has a height of 45 meters, or 147.64 feet, along with a length of 150 meters, or 492.23 feet, and a weight of 10,000 metric tons.


While the height and weight of the vehicle are unknown, what is known is that the Raider I-Class Corvette is 150 meters, or 492.23 feet, in length. That's about it.


Verdict: I'm going to make this brief as there's not much to discuss here. While not much information could be found on the corvette, both the Gotengo Mark II and the Raider I-Class Corvette have the same length and, in theory, are about the same in size. Neither vehicle gets the edge.

Engines/Speed

I haven't found anything regarding what type of engines the Gotengo Mark II, but I have been able to find that the warship is capable of traveling at Mach 2 when in flight. Considering that it traveled from Antarctica to Tokyo, Japan during the movie, dividing the distance between the two locations (13,930 km) and its best speed (Mach 2, or 2469.6 km/h) means that the Gotengo could travel the distance in 5.64 hours (rounded to the nearest hundredths place). However, based on the battles Godzilla took part in and the time of day, it seemed that it took the warship an entire day to reach its destination.

While I would say this was done for the sake of the movie, there is an explanation in the movie. As Godzilla was following after the warship and stopped to fight monsters sent to kill him, the Gotengo was most likely traveling at a slower speed for the kaiju to follow it. Considering a calculation using the speed of an airplane (560 mph on average), it's possible that it took the warship to reach Tokyo in 15.46 hours during the course of the movie. This would make sense, as the Gotengo released Godzilla in the middle of the night and it was nightfall when both the warship and the kaiju arrived in Tokyo.

In addition to its speed in flight, the Gotengo is said to be able to travel at 80 knots (92.06 mph) when traveling through water, be it on the surface or below the surface. While there is no information on how fast it can burrow through the ground, this information doesn't seem to really be needed in this match.


While no name was given to its engines, the Raider I-Class Corvette is said to be equipped with a large engine and two smaller engines to propel the vehicle through space. Additionally, it is equipped with a Class 2 Hyperdrive and a x15 Backup Hyperdrive should the main hyperdrive be rendered unusable. Other than that, there is no information that could be found in regards to the vessel's speed.


Verdict: This one is rather difficult to call, as both ships lack information in regards to half of this category. The Raider I-Class Corvette has reliable information on the engines and hyperdrive units, but how fast this corvette is unknown. The Gotengo Mark II can travel up to speeds of Mach 2 during flight and 80 knots when traveling through water, the engines that the warship has are unknown as my research couldn't find any info on the matter. Ulltimately, neither side of this category could be judged as only the corvette has info on its engines and only the warship has info on how fast it can go. Since neither vessel has all the necessary information to needed to be compared and, as such, neither will get the edge.

Armor/Shielding

While there is no information on the shielding of the Gotengo Mark II, there is enough information to give an idea as to how strong the hull is. This warship was created to battle against Godzilla and was later refurbished to continue battling against other kaiju. This was shown as its hull withstood direct hits from both Gigan's Cluster Light Ray and Godzilla's Thermonuclear Ray. Additionally, during its battle against Manda, the hull manage to hold despite the monster applying pressure by constricting it and withstood the heat from flying above an underwater volcano.

During the battle in Tokyo, swarms of Xilien Fighters attacked the ship with their laser cannons doing nothing to the warship's hull. The hull was also able to hold when the ship drilled into the Xilien Mothership and the front half of the ship entered it in the process. While both the Cluster Light Ray and Thermonuclear Ray knocked the vessel down, the fact that the warship wasn't destroyed by the attacks speaks volumes to how strong its hull is.


While there is no information on the shielding of the Raider I-Class Corvette, there is enough information to speculate about how strong the hull is. This corvette was meant to fill the anti-fighter role that was the Imperial Empire was lacking at the time of its creation. As this was made to take on starfighters, the hull should be able to take hits from several small fighters and could engage ships of similar sizes in battle. The weapons it has aren't made for attacking another ship, but could be able to hold out long enough to bring damage to the enemy vessel.

Despite this, the corvette wouldn't hold out for long against larger vessels or vessels in similar size that have superior weapons on it. For example, the hull could protect the vessel from a CR90 Corvette in a fight but will fail against heavy fire from a DP-20 Frigate. Similarly, a dedicated assault starfighter made to attack capital ships, such as the A/SF-01 B-Wing Starfighter, could deliver blows that can pierce the hull of the corvette.


Verdict: This one is simple to call, but I will elaborate my reasoning on this category. Both vessels have little information on their shielding and would be able to withstand being swarmed by smaller fighters. However, the hull of the Gotengo Mark II has been shown to withstand energy rays and immense pressures while the hull of the Raider I-Class Corvette would only be able to withstand attacks from vehicles similar in size and armament to it.

While we won't talk about the weapons that these vessels have to use in combat, the strength of each vehicle's hull comes down to what they were made for. The Gotengo is a warship made to contend with the strength of kaiju while the Raider I-Class is a corvette made to fill the anti-fighter role of the Imperial Fleet. As the strength of the hull is what ultimately determines the verdict, the Gotengo simply has the stronger hull than the corvette.

Pilots/Controls

The Gotengo Mark II has about eleven crew members with a commanding officer to give instructions on what to do. Three members of the crew in front of the officer with one manning the controls over the weapon systems and the other two being the pilots the vehicle. Two more are behind these three working at stations with the function currently being unknown. The other six crew members man six more stations with control panels of sorts. The exact nature of these controls panels and what they do is currently unknown. The chair where the commanding officer sits also has controls, but these controls, like the other eight stations, are unknown in terms of function.


While the controls of the Raider I-Class Corvette are unknown as there's no information or images that of the control room (or rooms), what is known that the crew was made up of fifteen officers and and seventy-seven enlisted crew members. This makes for a total of ninety-two crew members managing the ship through its controls whatever said controls might be.


Verdict: This one is rather difficult to decide as they both have an element that is completely unknown at the moment. This element, that being the controls of both vehicles, means that we are unable to determine which vehicle has the better controls to use. While speculation could be given to the warship as the front three stations were shown in the film, these are the only stations that we know what the controls of the ship might be. However, I haven't been able to find reference pictures or a detailed layout of the corvette so I have less to work with.

Ultimately, this section is going to come down to the crews manning these vessels to determine the edge. For the Gotengo Mark II, it has eleven members working controls at the control stations and the commanding officer is sitting in a chair with its own controls on it. The Raider I-Class, on the other hand, has ninety-two crew members to work the controls and perform the tasks that they need to do. As the corvette has eighty more crew members than the warship, I will give a slight edge to the corvette as the exact controls of both vessels may change the verdict if said controls were known.

Armament

The most notable weapon of the Gotengo Mark II is the bow drill at the front of the ship that allows it to burrow into the ground. However, when used against another vehicle, this drill will allow the warship to plow straight through the opposing ship's hull. The tip of the drill is also where the Zero Cannon fires from, which can launch a freezing ray that is able to freeze a target to absolute zero. In addition to this ray, a maser blast could be fired from the drill capable of damaging opposing vehicles after the vehicle was refurbished.

This refurbishing also gave the warship four Electronic Pulse cannons on the top of the vehicle that were used against smaller fighters. On each side of the warship are five missile launchers that can be fired in volleys. How many missiles that the Gotengo holds is unknown, but it is possible that it could fire up to at least two volleys, or twenty missiles, at a target. Finally, it has two objects similar to discs that can be used to charge the maser blast for a more powerful shot. While the power behind a charged maser blast was never shown, it is possible that this is used in emergency situations.


The Raider I-Class Corvette is armed with six dual heavy laser cannons on the top of the ship that are used against small fighters. Along with these laser cannons, the corvette is armed with an unspecified number of ion cannons and a single turbolaser cannon to use against other large vehicles. I have seen a picture of the corvette firing concussion missiles, but I haven't found information that this was standard for the vehicle. It is possible that certain individual ships are equipped and the concussion missiles are not part of the standard armament.


Verdict: This one is rather simple to call, but I will explain my reasoning. The main weapons of the Raider I-Class Corvette are more for fighting against fighters and it only has one turbolaser cannon to deal greater damage to a larger ship. When looking at the Gotengo Mark II, both its Zero Cannon and maser blast could destroy the corvette with ease. In addition, the warship is equipped with the Electronic Pulse cannons that function similar to the heavy laser cannons on the corvette. However, these two have weapons that are foreign to the other vessel.

For the corvette, the ion cannons could knock out the systems of the Gotengo with ease similar to what has been seen. However, the warship has the missile launchers and the drill that can do damage to the hull of the Raider I-Class. While the ion cannons could stop the warship in its place, the corvette doesn't have anything to answer the drill as it could be used to rip through its hull. Ultimately, the Gotengo has weapons that could do damage against the Raider I-Class and cause the destruction of the corvette.

Countermeasures

Based off what has been seen in the movie, the Gotengo Mark II does not possess any kind of countermeasures to stop any kind of attack to the ship.


Based off the information about the Raider I-Class Corvette that I've found, the corvette doesn't possess any way to counter an attack to the ship except its shielding (if it has any) or if it can tank the attack.


Verdict: Neither vehicle has any means of countering an attack, so either vessel gets the edge.

Advantages/Disadvantages

One of the biggest advantages of the Gotengo Mark II is that it is made to battle kaiju and has the necessary weapons to do so. Its main weapon is able to cause physical damage to either a kaiju or a vehicle and it has two types of energy rays that it can use against both types of opponents. As it was made to be a warship against kaiju, its hull is able to take energy attacks from kaiju and protect it from swarms of fighters.

However, while it can take energy rays from kaiju, these energy attacks have taken it down and even disabled it. In addition, most of its weapons probably are only good for harming kaiju with it having to charge both energy rays before using them.


As it was made to fill the role of an anti-fighter vessel, the Raider I-Class Corvette is capable of taking on swarms of starfighters with ease and can use its weapons to attack similar vehicles. Its hull can probably hold up when fighting similar sized vehicles and can use its weapons to damage the opposing vehicles. In addition, it can use its hyperdrive unit to chase after a target or in case it needs to make a retreat.

However, a vehicle the same size as it that has more firepower could easily tear through the hull in a fight. Additionally, its main weapons are made for destroying starfighters and has only one real weapon to deliver greater damage than its main weapons to an opposing vessel. Essentially, this corvette is a well armed vessel that can be used to battle against starfighter and vessels similar to itself.


Verdict: This one is going to be simple as most of these points have been discussed already. The Gotengo Mark II has a strong hull and weapons that can take out both kaiju and vehicles. On the other hand, the Raider I-Class Corvette has a good hull and weapons that can be used against both starfighters and similar sized ships. Both are strong in their own ways and against what they were made to fight, but the Gotengo has more going for it than the Raider I-Class in a fight between these two.


Category Edge Recap

Size: Draw

Engines/Speed: Draw

Armor/Shielding: Gotengo Mark II

Pilots/Controls: Raider I-class Corvette

Armament: Gotengo Mark II

Countermeasures: Draw

Advantages/Disadvantages: Gotengo Mark II


Verdict: Both of these vehicles are strong in their own right and have the same size in theory with weapons to deal with fighters. However, as you can tell already, the Gotengo Mark II has more going for it against the Raider I-Class Corvette. This isn't a surprise, as it's a dedicated warship made to combat kaiju against a corvette made to fill an anti-fighter role in a larger fleet. The Raider I-Class was made to deal more with fighters than to deal with other vessels of similar sizes. That's not to say that it's defenseless as it has the ion cannons and a turbolaser cannon.

However, the Zero Cannon of the Gotengo can freeze the corvette to absolute zero and the maser blast could possibly rip through said vehicles hull. In addition, the missiles could do damage upon impact if not destroyed by the heavy laser cannons and the bow drill will rip straight through the hull of the Raider I-Class. Both have the weapons they need to complete what they need to do, but the Gotengo has the better weapons in this fight. How this battle will go down is actually a pretty easy one to think of.

Should both meet each other and start fighting, the Gotengo would be able to withstand a beating from the turbolaser cannon and the six heavy laser cannons. On the other hand, the Raider I-Class would be able to barely withstand the missiles from the opposing vessel. While the ion cannon could disable the warship, I believe that the corvette wouldn't be able to stop it from using its bow drill or either of its energy attacks to destroy the ship. In only a few minutes, the Raider I-Class Corvette will be on the ropes and the Gotengo Mark II will finish off the vessel by charging at it with its bow drill ready to drill through its hull.

Possible Winner: Gotengo Mark II

Please note that this is just my opinion. I know that some people would say that the Raider I-Class Corvette would win against the Gotengo Mark II, which is why this is called GT25's Battle Series, not so-and-so's Battle Series.


Have a hypothesized battle that you want to see? Leave the battle in the review or PM me and I would be happy to do it.