Thunderbirds machines
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This page describes the fictional machines featured in Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's 1966 Supermarionation TV series Thunderbirds and the subsequent feature films Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6.
A large variety of air, land and sea vehicles and machines appeared in the series, the majority of which were designed by special effects director Derek Meddings.
While most TV and motion picture aircraft and spacecraft of the time were clean and polished, the Thunderbirds machines (and most others in the series) show the effects of wear and tear. The grime of countless hours of service is especially evident on Thunderbird 4, which is painted bright yellow. This dirt and wear were put on as a way of adding realism and countering the miniature models' toylike appearance.
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[edit] International Rescue machines
Many of the advanced machines that appeared in the series belonged to the International Rescue organisation and were used during their rescues. All the International Rescue vehicles were designed by the organisation's resident technical genius Brains.
[edit] Thunderbird fleet
International Rescue's fleet consists of 5 principal craft; the Thunderbirds:
[edit] Thunderbird 1
| A sleek, variable geometry (swing wing) hypersonic rocket plane used for fast response, rescue zone reconnaissance, and as a mobile control base. The length of Thunderbird 1 is a matter of debate, with various sources giving values of 24 m, 30 m and 35 m (80, 100 and 115 feet). However, the last figure is now generally accepted, placing the aircraft wingspan at 24 m. With a maximum speed of 15,000 mph (Mach 22.6), it can reach anywhere on Earth within an hour's flight if a great circle route can be flown. Thunderbird 1 is hangared beneath the main house on Tracy Island, and launches vertically from a pad camouflaged by a swimming pool which slides aside. The aircraft is primarily piloted by Scott Tracy, with Alan taking his place when he is unavailable (such as in the episode "Atlantic Inferno", where Scott, as the eldest Tracy brother, takes charge while Jeff is on holiday). Jeff described it as "sleek, first and fast" at the beginning of Thunderbird 6. |
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[edit] Thunderbird 2
| The most massive rescue vehicle of the Thunderbirds inventory, Thunderbird 2 is a supersonic vertical take-off and landing lifting body aircraft used for the transport of major rescue equipment and vehicles. Thunderbird 2 is 76 m long, 18 m tall, has a 55 m wingspan, and a maximum speed of 5,000 mph (Mach 7.6). It is hangared in its own large facility, along with its equipment pods. The pods house a variety of specialised rescue equipment, including Thunderbird 4, and are interchangeable depending on the mission. Thunderbird 2 utilises the island's landing strip (complete with folding trees to accommodate its wingspan) to take off and land. Throughout the entire run of the programme, Thunderbird 2 is the only craft seen to receive serious damage ("Terror in New York City"). The aircraft is piloted by Virgil Tracy, normally supported by at least one of Alan, Gordon, Brains, or (on rare occasions) John. |
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[edit] Thunderbird 3
| A reusable, vertically launched SSTO (Single Stage To Orbit) spaceship used for space rescue and maintenance of Thunderbird 5. Thunderbird 3 is 87 m long, with a 7 m wide body, 24 m span (including engines) and a maximum speed of at least 25,000 mph (Earth escape velocity). The spacecraft uses chemical rockets for lift-off and boost, and an ion drive for propulsion while in space. Thunderbird 3 is hangared beneath the "Round House" on Tracy Island, and is primarily piloted by Alan or John Tracy, although Scott often co-pilots. Since John is usually seen in Thunderbird 5, he is rarely seen piloting the spacecraft (only in "The Mighty Atom" and "Danger at Ocean Deep", and never in a rescue situation). In "Ricochet" Virgil is seen piloting Thunderbird 3. |
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[edit] Thunderbird 4
| A small utility submarine for underwater rescue, Thunderbird 4 is carried aboard Thunderbird 2, nearly always in Pod 4, although it can deploy independently from the Thunderbird 2 hangar along the island runway (as seen in "Terror in New York City"). Thunderbird 4 is 9 m long and 3 m wide, and is fitted with an adjustable searchlight which can be raised or lowered to reveal a variety of rescue instruments, such as cutting lasers and battering rams, which can be extended from the nose section. Thunderbird 4 is piloted by aquanaut, Gordon Tracy. Built by WASP, the same organisation responsible for Stingray. |
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[edit] Thunderbird 5
| An Earth-orbiting space station which monitors all broadcasts around the globe for calls for help and also manages communications within International Rescue. Measuring 122 m long, 90 m wide, and 83 m tall, the systems onboard Thunderbird 5 are almost completely automated, allowing the entire station to be run by a single crew member. Thunderbird 5 is primarily commanded by John Tracy, although he is periodically relieved by Alan (according to the storyline, John and Alan swap roles once a month, one piloting Thunderbird 3 and the other monitoring Thunderbird 5, but such was writer Gerry Anderson's dislike for the character of John, that he was usually exiled to the space station). It is also the only Thunderbird vehicle with its own theme song. |
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[edit] Other International Rescue machines
[edit] FAB1
A six-wheeled Rolls-Royce motor car used by Lady Penelope and her chauffeur, Parker. The car has an aircraft-style canopy and is fitted with many gadgets including an air-cooled machine-gun located behind the Rolls-Royce grille.
[edit] Pod vehicles
Thunderbird 2 was designed to carry specialised rescue vehicles and equipment to disaster sites 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. Through the series, there is one example of the pod being retrieved ("Day of Disaster"). The pod vehicles were stored within the various pods as necessary or in Thunderbird 2's cavernous hangar.
The pod vehicles which would emerge from one of Thunderbird 2's pods each week include:
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| The Mole | A high-speed, manned tunnelling machine capable of boring through even the hardest rock to rescue individuals trapped underground. Often carried in Pod 5, the Mole is notable for being one of the few pod vehicles to appear in multiple episodes. Appears in "Pit of Peril", "City of Fire" and "The Duchess Assignment". |
| Firefly | A fire-proof vehicle, fitted with a large blade and armed with a nitroglycerin cannon to extinguish fires. Often carried in Pod 3 or Pod 6. Appears in "City of Fire", "Terror in New York City" and "Cry Wolf". |
| Elevator Cars | One manned and three remote-controlled vehicles used to assist aircraft in landings, these can be manoeuvred into place beneath an aircraft to act as replacement landing gear. Carried in Pod 3. Appear in "Trapped in the Sky". |
| Recovery vehicles | One manned and one remote-controlled vehicle equipped with magnetic grappling lines to haul large weights. Carried in Pod 5. Appears in "Pit of Peril". |
| DOMO (Demolition and Object Moving Operator) | A restraint vehicle with three suction arms to restrain or lift unstable structures prior to the use of other pod vehicles. Appears in "The Duchess Assignment". |
| Excavator | A high-powered rock-crushing machine used to clear rough terrain or unblock caves with people trapped inside. Similar in design to the DOMO. Appears in "Martian Invasion". |
| Monobrake | A low-slung utility vehicle capable of travelling along monorail tunnels. Appears in "The Perils of Penelope". |
| Mobile Crane | A six-wheeled 'cherry picker' vehicle used to lift rescue personnel into tall structures and even moving structures such as the Crablogger. Appears in "Path of Destruction". |
| Transmitter Truck | A tracked truck that can send a safety beam to space to save stranded spacecraft like the 'Sun Probe' or Thunderbird 3. Carried in Pod 5. Appears in "Sun Probe". |
| Fire Truck | An upgraded commercial vehicle, this is used to launch nitroglycerin shells to extinguish fires or pump water or foam onto blazes. Similar in model to the Transmitter Truck. Appears very briefly in "Security Hazard". |
| Fire Tender | Another adapted commercial vehicle, this serves as a back-up to the Firefly and Fire Truck and can fire nitroglycerin like the Firefly. Glimpsed during the Tracy Island tour in "Cry Wolf" but never seen in action as an International Rescue vehicle. A fire tender of the same design was seen in "City of Fire". |
| Laser Cutter Vehicle | A small tracked vehicle with a powerful front-mounted laser used to gain quick entry to secure buildings. Appears in "30 Minutes After Noon". |
| Booster Mortar | A small cannon used to fire rescue packages into high structures. Similar in design to the Laser Cutter. Appears in "Edge of Impact". |
| Neutraliser Tractor | A small tracked vehicle able to use sonic waves to deactivate bombs. Appears in "Move and You're Dead". |
| Jet-Air Transporter | An air-cushioned vehicle which uses jets of air to slow people falling from great heights. Appears in "Move and You're Dead". |
| Remote Camera | A remotely operated flying camera designed to withstand extreme heat. Carried aboard Thunderbird 1. |
| Hover Jets | Small personal transports that hover above the ground. These vehicles were also seen in Anderson's earlier series Fireball XL5. |
Three other pod vehicles were shown as background machinery, though their uses are unknown. They include a red and black truck and a yellow trailer truck (possibly to support large equipment) both seen in the pod vehicle bay in the episode "Cry Wolf" and a curved low to the ground red vehicle seen in Pod 1 in the episode "Security Hazard".
[edit] Other Machines
[edit] Crablogger 1
This huge yellow tree-felling machine featured in the episode "Path of Destruction". Powered by a Superon-fuelled atomic reactor, the Crablogger was designed by Jim Lucas of Robotics International in England. The machine had two large arms equipped with giant chainsaws which would cut a tree at the base before passing it through an opening at the front. Inside the Crablogger, the tree was reduced to wood pulp which was regularly collected by automated tankers.[1]
[edit] Fireflash
The Fireflash, a hypersonic airliner, appeared in the episodes "Trapped in the Sky", "Operation Crash-Dive", "The Impostors", "The Man From MI.5", "The Duchess Assignment" and "Security Hazard". It has six atomic motors that enable it to stay in the air for a maximum of six months; however they must be examined frequently, or the passengers will only be able to spend a maximum of three hours 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 fin. Like the real-world A380 she has two decks, but also features luxury facilities such as a cocktail lounge housed within glazed sections of the wings leading edges. Fireflash was commissioned by Air Terranean (a.k.a.: Terranean Airways).[2]
[edit] Helijet
Multi-purpose jet powered VTOL aircraft, Helijets appear in numerous episodes and are widely used by civilian and military organisations. A variety of different designs are seen over the course of the series and were also seen in Anderson's next series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.
[edit] Roadlayer
The Roadlayer acted as the command centre and primary construction unit of a Road Construction Company. On-board systems allowing it to grind up rocks and trees as it moved over them, flatten the ground then lay a six lane motorway behind it.
The machine was equipped with a Helijet pad as well as light, tracked demolition trucks that cleared larger obstacles with nuclear charges. In this capacity it was also equipped with a form of gun used for obstacle clearing.
The Roadlayer was, physically a massive tower that moved on tanks-treads while access ramps allowed the demo trucks to be loaded and unloaded.
Roadlayers appeared in the episodes End of the Road and Atlantic Inferno.
[edit] Sidewinder
A military walking vehicle which appeared in the episode "Pit of Peril". It resembles a giant lobster. Powered by an atomic reactor, the four-legged Sidewinder has two mechanical arms at the front which are used to uproot trees and move aside other obstructions. The vehicle is operated by a crew of three from the cabin at the front. At 50 m long and weighing over 500 tonnes, the Sidewinder is slow and lumbering, but is capable of crossing terrain inaccessible to other land vehicles. The vehicle was developed to prevent South African "brush fire" wars from escalating into larger conflicts and is equipped with a significant amount of weaponry. The prototype vehicle fell into an unmapped landfill pit during testing. Due to spontaneous combustion of the garbage the inside of the pit was extremely hot.[3]
[edit] Sentinel
A next generation strike vessel which appeared in the episode "Terror in New York City". Its statistics are unknown, but Virgil described its speed as "phenomenal" as he detected it. Unfortunately, the Sentinel also detected Thunderbird 2 and launched a missile attack, having erroneously identified Thunderbird 2 as an enemy aircraft, since it was too slow to be a missile, too fast to be a civilian aircraft and did not match any U.S. Army aircraft. The Sentinel managed to shoot Thunderbird 2 down and cripple it for rest of the episode before Thunderbird 1 informed them about what they had done. Subsequently, the Sentinel helped International Rescue to save some reporters by taking Thunderbird 4 aboard and carrying it near the city.[4]
[edit] Skyship One
Skyship One is a large technologically advanced airship which appeared in the second Thunderbirds feature Thunderbird 6. Commissioned by the World Aircraft Corporation, the airship was designed by Thunderbirds creator Brains under the pseudonym of 'Mr X'. The ship requires only a skeleton crew, as the systems are entirely automated, with destinations pre-programmed before take-off. Key to the airship's design are the gravity compensators which effectively reduce the craft's weight allowing it become airborne. Inside, the ship's cabins and facilities are luxurious and include several themed rooms and bars.[5]
[edit] Skythrust
A large passenger airliner designed by Brains which featured in the episode "Alias Mr. Hackenbacker". The aircraft has a unique safety feature in the form of an ejectable fuel tank. In the event of a crash landing, the fuel tank separates from the main body of the aircraft, allowing the plane to land safely with minimal risk of fire or explosion. The fuel "rocket" is then guided to a safe altitude before self-destructing.[6]
[edit] Zero X
A metallic blue spacecraft that made the first manned landing on Mars. Zero X first appeared in the first Thunderbirds feature film, Thunderbirds Are Go, and subsequently in the first episode of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.[7][8] It is assembled hours prior to launch and consists of 5 parts: The MEV (Martian Exploration Vehicle), the main fuselage, Lifting Bodies 1 & 2, two wing-like structures loaded with thruster packs and also incorporate landing gear at the ends, and the reflective Nose Cone, which is a large metallic nose which attaches to the MEV.
[edit] References
- ^ Thunderbirds (1966), Century 21 Television/ITC - Series 2 Episode 2: "Path of Destruction"
- ^ Thunderbirds (1965), Century 21 Television/ITC - various episodes
- ^ Thunderbirds (1965), Century 21 Television/ITC - Series 1 Episode 2: "Pit of Peril"
- ^ Thunderbirds (1965), Century 21 Television/ITC - Series 1 Episode 4: "Terror in New York"
- ^ Thunderbird 6 (1968), Century 21 Cinema/United Artists
- ^ Thunderbirds (1966), Century 21 Television/ITC - Series 2 Episode 3: "Alias Mr. Hackenbacker"
- ^ Thunderbirds are GO (1966), Century 21 Cinema/United Artists
- ^ Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons (1967), Century 21 Television/ITC - Episode 1: "The Mysterons"
[edit] External links
- Gerry Anderson's "stars" Overview of the miniature models of Anderson's series' including Thunderbirds.
