The boxy supply ship is exactly that: a box with engines. It has no combat potential whatsoever, as it is not intended to face enemy fire at any point. Its primary purpose is to service Federal warships in the field, but it is also utilized to transfer bulk cargo.

During the opening stages of the One Year War, Federal tacticians, faced with a sudden lack of a suitable transport for their FFS-3 Saberfish, pressed the Columbus into service as a carrier craft. The results were less than spectacular: the space fighters, already outclassed by Zeon's Zaku II mobile suits, were frequently destroyed before they could launch on account of inadequate systems to get them in the air rapidly. The thinly armored Columbus-class ships also frequently fell prey to marauding Zeon mobile suits as well as crossfire from dueling warships.

Following the end of the Lourm Campaign, Federation fleet commanders still lacked a means to carry their fighters, not to mention their brand new and highly expensive mobile suits, so the battered and beaten Columbus soldiered on (the new Pegasus-class carriers, such as the White Base, were ineconomical for mass production).

The Columbus, though it is a box, is a versatile box. Its twin cargo bays can be refitted to carry either fighters, or standard mobile suits, as well as any combination thereof (for instance, any particular Columbus could carry fifteen Saberfish in its portside hangar and five RGM-79 GMs in its starboard hangar). However, while it may resemble a box, it is a wet paper bag as far as vitaliy and durability is concerned, and also a prime target for enemy mobile suit pilots with enough balls to get near its escorts.