Type 66 Maser Cannon

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Type 66 Maser Cannon
A Type 66 Maser Cannon in The War of the Gargantuas
Height 6 meters[1]
Length 14.5 meters[1]
Weight 80 metric tons[1]
Width 3.5 meters[1]
Other information Tractor length: 6 meters,[1]
Tractor width: 3 meters,[1]
Tractor height: 2.5 meters,[1]
Tractor weight: 32 metric tons[1]
Targets Gaira
First appearance The War of the Gargantuas

The Type 66 Maser Cannon (66式メーサー殺獣光線車,   Rokuroku Shiki Mēsā Satsujū Kōsensha, 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,[2] 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 was 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 series continuity, the Type 66 was ultimately 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.[3] Yasuyuki Inoue designed them. The miniatures were adapted from the A-Cycle Light Ray Gun cars from Invasion of Astro-Monster designed by Akira Watanabe.[3] Two 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.[1] Tsuburaya Productions would reuse the props the same year for episode 11 of Ultraman.

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.[3] Stock footage of the Type 66 was 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 tank is pulled along by a smaller tractor.

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 JSDF originally developed the Type 66 Maser Cannon as a missile interceptor system, equipping it with a system for this purpose.[2] However, they determined that the electromagnetic heat beam fired by the Cannon would be effective at damaging the cells of the man-eating giant Gaira.

In the Kiryu series, 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.[4] When the Type 66 proved effective against Gaira, it was adopted as Japan's primary weapon against kaiju attacks before being replaced by the Type 90 Maser Cannon.

History

Showa era

The War of the Gargantuas

Two Type 66 Maser Cannons open fire in 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 man-eater, 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 era

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. By the time a second Godzilla appeared in 1999, it had been succeeded by the Type 90 Maser Cannon.

Capabilities

Maser Cannon

  • Powered by a small nuclear reactor that allows it to fire a 100,000 volt electromagnetic atomic heat ray.[1]
  • Runs on a nuclear reactor which can be powered up by injections from liquid oxygen tanks.[5]
  • Equipped with a radar system originally intended to detect incoming missiles.[2]
  • Operated by a crew of four people.[1]

Tractor

  • Equipped with two 1500 horsepower diesel engines.[1]
  • Operated by a crew of four people.[1]

Filmography

Gallery

Screenshots

Merchandise

Trivia

  • Akira Ifukube would later use the "Operation L" march he originally composed for the Type 66 Maser Cannons in The War of the Gargantuas to underscore Maser Cannons in his scores for Godzilla vs. Mothra and Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.
  • The 2016 book Godzilla Against Type-3 Kiryu (Mechagodzilla) Completion includes an early timeline of events for the Kiryu series films which mentions three deployments of the Type 66 Maser Cannons not retained in the final timeline: Kumonga in 1967, and Gigan and Anguirus in 1972, with the latter prevented from landing in Yokosuka.[7] Interestingly, the deployments against Kumonga and Gigan are mentioned in the Codex entry for the Type 90 Maser Cannon in the game Godzilla Defense Force.
  • Various contemporary media for the Heisei Godzilla series such as “Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla - Super Data Book” include a variation of this machine called the “Type 67 Maser Cannon”, which is said to have been developed in 1967 to stop Sanda and Gaira. They became a marvel of weapon development, and were later stored as antiques/reserves in the hangars of G-Force.

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]

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Toho Special Effects Mechanic Encyclopedia 1954-2003. Shinkigensha. 2003. pp. 93, 320. ISBN 9784775301425.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Encyclopedia of Godzilla (SpaceGodzilla Edition). Gakken. 12 December 1994. p. 90. ISBN 4056007144.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works. villagebooks. 28 September 2012. pp. 106–109, 152–155. ISBN 9784864910132.
  4. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla Fantastic Collection. Asahi Sonorama. December 2002. p. 20. ISBN 978-4257036685.
  5. "Type 66 Maser Beam Tank". Toho Kingdom. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  6. "Type 66 Maser Beam Tank". HobbyLinkTV. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  7. Godzilla Against Type-3 Kiryu (Mechagodzilla) Completion. Hobby Japan. 21 December 2016. ISBN 4798613533.

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