[edit] Gawain
The Gawain (ガウェイン, Gawein?), named after Sir Gawain of the Knights of the Round Table, is a prototype sixth generation Knightmare Frame[5] developed by Prince Schneizel el Britannia. It is larger than most Knightmares,[26] about twice as tall and wide, has no Factsphere sensors, and no ejection system. Its Landspinner system is also internalized, instead of the fold-out skate configuration common on other Knightmares. It features a double-seater cockpit, although it can be operated by one person.[27]
The Gawain is equipped with an integrated Float System, and is the first unit in the series capable of self-sustained flight. Its fingers are miniature Slash Harkens, and it features a pair of shoulder-mounted Hadron Cannons. The Hadron Cannons fire erratically at first, but the Black Knights' scientific mastermind, Rakshata, is able to stabilize them using her Gefjun Disturber technology. As a side benefit, the Disturber's natural disruption properties also render the Gawain invisible to radar. Its experimental Druid System (ドルイドシステム, Doruido Shisutemu?), originally intended to investigate the structure and function of the Thought Elevators, allows the Gawain to plot the probable movements of enemy units. Despite its strengths, the Gawain is a fairly slow unit, and as such is easily outmaneuvered by smaller, faster Knightmares, such as Gloucesters.
Lelouch Lamperouge and Kallen Stadtfeld steal the Gawain from Prince Schneizel's expedition in order to escape from Kaminejima Island, outpacing the efforts of several Sutherlands using its aerial capability.[28] Despite the amount of new technology consequently lost, Schneizel dismisses the Gawain's theft, considering it to be a mere "experimental subject." After its technology is studied and refined, it becomes Lelouch's and C.C.'s personal Knightmare; usually C.C. handling the piloting while Zero operates the weapons and issues orders and communications. The Gawain later proves instrumental in Zero's plans, amongst other things allowing him to save Suzaku from a swarm of Chinese Gang Lous[29] and especially in the invasion of the Tokyo Settlement,[30] single-handedly wiping out the totality of Britannia's air support in the area. The Gawain is lost during a battle with the powerful Siegfried Knightmare being piloted by Jeremiah Gottwald, C.C. uses its Slash Harkens to entangle the Siegfried and drag them both into the crushing depths of the ocean. Though the frame is damaged beyond repair, its Druid System and Hadron Cannons are salvaged. The cannons are incorporated into the Black Knights' flagship, the Ikaruga, and the Druid System becomes a critical component of the defense system of Zero's personal Knightmare, the Shinkirō.[31]
