Type 66 Maser Cannon
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The Type 66 Maser Cannon (６６式メーサー殺獣光線車 66-Shiki Mēsā Ya-jū Kōsen-sha, lit. Type 66 Maser Beast Killer Beam Car) is a fictional weapon that first appeared in the 1966 Toho film, The War of the Gargantuas.
Originally developed as a missile interceptor system, the Type 66 Maser Cannon was repurposed for use as an offensive weapon to combat the man-eating monster Gaira as part of "Operation L." Several of the weapons were used to assault Gaira, and nearly fatally wounded him until his "brother" Sanda arrived to rescue him. Once Sanda learned of his brother's true nature and the monsters began fighting in Tokyo, more Maser Cannons were deployed to open fire on Gaira.
The Type 66 Maser Cannon marked one of the first effective military weapons against a kaiju, and gave rise to many subsequent models across the differing continuities of the Godzilla series. In the Showa continuity, it was replaced with an improved model dubbed the Type 70 which saw action against Gigan and Megalon. In the Kiryu Saga continuity, the Type 66 continued to see use against monsters such as Kumonga and Gigan before being replaced with the upgraded Type 90.
Development
The Type 66 Maser Cannon was not originally in the script for The War of the Gargantuas, but director Ishiro Honda added them to the film in order to increase the amount of special effects. The Type 66 Maser Cannons were designed by Yasuyuki Inoue. The miniatures were adapted from the A-Cycle Light Ray Gun cars from Invasion of Astro-Monster, which were originally designed by Akira Watanabe. Two larger 1/15 scale miniatures about two meters in length and two smaller 1/30 scale miniatures about one meter long were constructed. Neither the Maser Cannon miniatures nor the miniatures for the tractors pulling them were self-propelled, and needed to be operated with piano wires. Electricity was sent through the piano wires into the miniature to make the satellite dish-shaped firing apparatus emit light. It was a last-moment idea of special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya to have the Masers' beams slice through trees.
The Type 66 Maser Cannon models were slightly streamlined and reused in Godzilla vs. Gigan to depict the improved Type 70 Maser Cannons. Stock footage of the Type 66 Maser Cannons appeared in Godzilla vs. Gigan and Godzilla vs. Megalon to stand in for the Type 70 in some shots. Stock footage of the Type 66 was later employed once again in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, showing the weapon's use against Gaira in 1966.
Design
the Type 66 Maser Cannon consists of a large tank with a movable arm extending from it. This arm ends in a large parabolic cannon shaped like a satellite dish which fires the Maser beam. The Type 66 Maser Cannon is pulled along by a smaller tractor attached in front of it.
Origins
The origins of the Type 66 Maser Cannon differ slightly between the continuities of the Showa series and the Kiryu Saga.
In the Showa continuity, the Type 66 Maser Cannon was originally developed as a missile interceptor system, and was equipped with a radar for this purpose. However, the JSDF determined that the electromagnetic heat beam fired by the Cannon would be effective at damaging the cells of the man-eating giant Gaira. Several Type 66 Maser Cannons were utilized during "Operation L" to assault Gaira. Because of their effectiveness, Maser Cannons began to be utilized as anti-kaiju weapons.
In the Kiryu Saga, the Type 66 Maser Cannon was developed from the technology used in the Rolisican military's Atomic Heat Ray Gun which was lent to the JSDF to combat Mothra in 1961. The JSDF believed that this technology could hold the key to defending Japan from kaiju attacks in the future, and ultimately utilized it to construct the Type 66 Maser Cannon. When the Type 66 proved effective against Gaira, it was adopted as Japan's primary weapon against kaiju attacks.
History
Showa Series
The War of the Gargantuas
After discovering Gaira's weakness to sunlight, the JSDF determined that the creature's cells could be damaged by concentrated heat. The JSDF then began "Operation L," which aimed to use the Type 66 Maser Cannons' concentrated electromagnetic atomic heat ray to assault Gaira. At night, Gaira was lured through the forest into the firing range of the Maser Cannons, which opened fire on him. The beams seared through Gaira's flesh and caused him to collapse into a nearby river, which the JSDF had charged with an electrical current. As Gaira was electrocuted by the water and continuously bombarded by the Maser beams, it seemed that the monster would finally meet his end. However, the brown Gargantua Sanda emerged from the forest and helped his brother up. Sanda waved his arms at the attacking forces, signaling to them to stand down, and escorted his wounded brother away.
However, Sanda soon realized why the JSDF had been attacking his brother. Gaira was a vicious maneater, and Sanda realized that he needed to be stopped. Sanda attacked Gaira, enraging him and prompting him to assault Tokyo. Sanda followed his brother to Tokyo and pleaded with him to end his reign of terror, but was forced to battle him to the death. The JSDF deployed more Maser Cannons to attack Gaira in Tokyo, but were unable to pursue him as the Gargantuas' battle traveled out into Tokyo Bay.
Millennium Series
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla
Ever since the original Godzilla assaulted Tokyo in 1954, Japan found itself constantly threatened by other kaiju, with none of its conventional weapons proving effective in combat against them. In 1961, the Rolisican military loaned its experimental Atomic Heat Ray Guns to Japan to fend off Mothra when she attacked Tokyo. While these weapons did not kill Mothra, they proved capable of doing damage against a creature of her size. The JSDF analyzed the technology used in the weapon and developed it into the Type 66 Maser Cannon, which first saw action against Gaira in 1966. The Maser Cannon proved capable of hurting a kaiju, and was employed successfully against Kumonga the following year and Gigan in 1972. Near the end of the century, the JSDF perfected the technology further and developed the improved Type 90 Maser Cannon to replace the Type 66.
Capabilities
Maser Cannon
- Powered by a small nuclear reactor that allows it to fire a 100,000 volt electromagnetic atomic heat ray.
- Equipped with a radar system originally intended to detect incoming missiles.
Tractor
- Equipped with two 1500 horsepower diesel engines.
Gallery
Screenshots
Merchandise
Remote controlled Type 66 Maser Cannon
Chibi-Maru Type 66 Maser Cannon
Toho Machine Chronicles Type 66 Maser Cannon
Type 66 Maser Cannon model kit
Trivia
- Akira Ifukube would later use the "Operation L" march he originally composed for the Type 66 Maser Cannons in this film to underscore Maser Cannons in his scores for Godzilla vs. Mothra and Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.
References
This is a list of references for Type 66 Maser Cannon. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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