Thunderbirds (TV series)

Thunderbirds is a mid-1960s Sylvia and Gerry Anderson television show which used a form of puppetry called "Supermarionation".

Thunderbird vehicles

Primarily designed by special effects director Derek Meddings, the five main Thunderbird craft are:

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• Thunderbird 1: a sleek, variable geometry (or "swing wing") hypersonic rocket plane used for fast response, rescue zone reconnaissance and as a mobile control base
• Thunderbird 2: a heavy supersonic carrier lifting body aircraft used for the transport of major rescue equipment and vehicles
• Thunderbird 3: a reuseable spaceship used for space rescue and maintenance of TB5
• Thunderbird 4: a submarine for underwater rescue, carried aboard Thunderbird 2
• Thunderbird 5: an Earth-orbiting space station which monitors world broadcasts for calls for help and manages communications with the organization.
• Thunderbird 6; a biplane introduced in the theatrical film, Thunderbird 6.

Thunderbird 2 is a supersonic heavy transporter, powered by a combination of rocket and ramjet engines. Like Thunderbird 1, it is armed with cannon and missiles. It is designed to carry specialised rescue vehicles and equipment to disaster sites, carried in one of six interchangeable pods. Pod 4, which contains the submarine vehicle Thunderbird 4 and other undersea rescue equipment, is designed to be dropped from the hovering Thunderbird 2 directly onto the surface of the water (although the series fails to show how the floating pod is subsequently recovered).

Related Topics:
Supersonic - Rocket - Ramjet - Submarine

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The pod vehicles which would emerge from one of TB2's pods each week were often the stars of the show. They include:

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• The Mole: a high-speed manned tunnelling machine
• Firefly: a fire-proofed vehicle fitted with a large blade and armed with a nitroglycerine cannon to extinguish fires
• Recovery Vehicles: One manned and one remote vehicle equipped with magnetic grappling lines
• High-Speed Elevator Cars: one manned and three remote vehicles used to assist aircraft in landings, these can be manoeuvered into place beneath an aircraft to act as replacement landing gear
• Domo: a restraint vehicle with three lifting arms to restrain or lift unstable structures
• Booster Mortar: a small cannon used to fire rescue packages into high structures
• Transmitter Truck: a converted commercial truck used for long-range communications with spacecraft

The Pod Vehicles were variously stored within the pods as necessary or in TB2s cavernous hangar.

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Some episodes also feature the Fireflash, a supersonic airliner built in 2065. It has six atomic motors that enable it to stay in the air for a maximum of six months, however they must be given frequent examinations, or the passengers can only spend 3 hours maximum in the aircraft before succumbing to radiation sickness. Fireflash's maximum speed is Mach 6 (approximately 4,500 mph or 7,200 km/h), and can fly at heights above 250,000 feet (76 km). A novel feature is that the flight deck is built into the tail section. Fireflash was built especially for Air Terranean (AKA: Terranean Airways) for long flights lasting over a day by jetplane.

Related Topics:
Radiation sickness - Mach

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