The Deus Ex Machina (デクス・ウキス・マキネ, Dekusu Ukisu Makine?), under the nameplate of Hindenburg II (ヒンデンブルクⅡ号, Hindenburuku Ⅱ-gō?), is the command zeppelin of The Major, and is the largest airship in the Millennium fleet.
It is distinguished from the two other Zeppelins by its massive size and red-black checkerboard pattern. Like the other zeppelins, it can launch vampirized-troops from the specialized deployment rails, however it is the only aircraft capable of launching the V-1 flying bombs, of which supplies are plentiful.
It is the most deadly zeppelin created by Millennium. Despite the fact that Millennium was made of SS volunteers, the Deus Ex Machina and the other Millennium zeppelins (Alfred Rosenberg and Arthur Seyss) had some crew members that were wearing Kriegsmarine officer's uniforms.
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Technical details[]
Like the other airships, the Deus Ex Machina is sheeted in a special light metal armor, allowing for the maximum protection possible while still being light enough to be carried by the hydrogen-filled body. However, this armor seems to fare poorly against any sort of ordnance attack (as demonstrated when Zorin's zeppelin, having similar protection, was brought down within moments by Seras Victoria's Harkonnen II anti-aircraft gun), although can hold up for a short while against missile attacks. The transport compartment seems to be extremely spacious, having enough room to accommodate a large amount of personnel, a huge stash of weaponry, a treasury, a laboratory, and a huge war room connected to the bridge of the ship. The large, oval command center allows a huge, computerized screen to be present, covering every inch of wall in the room, and can be alternated between a massive strategic map or an external viewport, presumably simulated or on live-feed from external cameras.
The control room of the Deus Ex.
The Deus Ex Machina's primary armament are the V-1 Flying Bombs, cruise missiles that were originally used during World War II. The Deus Ex has a massive supply of these weapons, which are fired from launch hangers on the underside of the airship's transport compartment. Like the weapons used by the Last Battalion's ground forces, the V-1 Bombs appear to have been upgraded from their original WWII era counterparts, apparently using napalm or some other incendiary device to create massive fireball explosions.
The exact size of the Deus Ex Machina is unknown, although it is almost four times the size of the other zeppelins (which, in turn, are each roughly the size of the Hindenburg airship) and the armory alone is apparently large enough to accommodate an entire U-Boat, as well as an Me-262, a supposed Nazi "UFO", a multitude of Panther tanks (which were, surprisingly, unused in the conquest of London) and other salvaged Nazi surplus - and this is only a fraction of the available space in the entire underside compartment. The airship possesses the facilities to launch airborne assaults via a series of launch rails, designed to catapult the soldiers of the Last Battalion into battle, as well as a multitude of launch hangars designed to fire the V-1 Flying Bombs.
Nameplate[]
In the manga, the Deus Ex Machina's nameplate reads "Hindenburg II", the Alfred Rosenberg's nameplate reads "Graf Zeppelin III", and the Arthur Seyss-Inquart's nameplate reads "Graf Zeppelin IV". In the OVA, the Alfred Rosenberg's nameplate reads "Graf Zeppelin II". None of these names are ever spoken by any character: the Deus Ex Machina is always referred to by its true name, while the Alfred Rosenberg and the Arthur Seyss-Inquart (which hardly appears in the manga or OVA) are always referred to as "Zeppelin 2" and "Zeppelin 3", respectively, prior to their destruction (after which they are referred to as 'Alfred Rosenberg' and 'Arthur Seyss-Inquart', respectively).
History[]
It is unclear as to whether the Deus Ex Machina was constructed before the Second World War ended and brought over to the current Millennium base, or built there after the war - although the second idea is more likely, as a zeppelin of any size would be extremely difficult to stealthily convey across the Atlantic. For however long it remained in the bowels of the Millennium complex, the Deus Ex Machina was being constructed to be extremely distinguished from other Zeppelins, turning it into more of a flying warship than its smaller cousins were designed to be. When the Major decided it was time to execute the invasion of London, he set off in his airship accompanied by a pair of (comparatively) smaller Zeppelins to England. Upon arriving and devastating the city with a barrage of V-1 Rockets, the battle-group split, Lieutenant Zorin Blitz commandeering one of the smaller airships (Alfred Rosenberg) and bringing it to attack Hellsing Manor. The last of the V-1 rockets were fired off, in support of Zorin's advance, but Seras Victoria destroyed both the V-1s and the Alfred Rosenberg alike with her Harkonnen II (anti-aircraft weapon).
After this, the Deus Ex Machina and Arthur Seyss found themselves in increasingly difficult situations. Having ran dry of rockets after Zorin set off for her assault, and with all of the Last Battalion's troops deployed on the ground, the zeppelins were left without any offensive or, indeed, defensive capabilities. When the Reconquista arrived with their missile gunships, both airships were devastated by the repeated rocket attacks, which crippled the external frames and caused widespread fires across the hulls.
The destruction of the Deus Ex Machina.
By the time Walter faced off with Alucard, the Arthur Seyss had been completely destroyed, and the Deus Ex Machina was barely airworthy; its outer structure was falling apart and its internal workings were almost completely destroyed. As per his plan, the Major directed the Deus Ex Machina to land in the streets behind Alucard, where it opened its main door to allow Integra and Seras to enter. During the duo's subsequent advance towards the Major's control room, the zeppelin suffered further damage, especially when Seras first battled The Captain in its treasure room, and then fired a tank round at the Major that blew through the control room and pierced the hull. In the end, the Deus Ex Machina was finished off when the various fires and explosion ignited the hydrogen in the airship's gas bags. Following the Major's death, the once-mighty zeppelin was consumed in flames, with Seras and Integra barely escaping before the entire ship exploded spectacularly.
Trivia[]
- In the manga and the OVA, the destruction of the Deus Ex Machina mirrors the real-life Hindenburg disaster, from the way the zeppelin was consumed in flames to the angle from where the reader/viewer sees the zeppelin, which is very similar to the actual newsreel footage of the Hindenburg disaster.
- The reason Panther tanks weren't used was because the attack was only meant to draw out Alucard and carry out the plan of destroying him via Schrödinger.