"Calling International Rescue.... Calling International Rescue...." These words were heard by a space monitoring station called Thunderbird 5. When ever there was trouble John Tracy, the pilot of Thunderbird 5, would call down to Thunderbird Base to give a location and description of the events as they unfolded. Jeff Tracy, the man behind International Rescue would decide what pilots and what ships would be needed for the mission.This was a part of every Saturday morning when I was a kid. I would wake up real early just to see the "Thunderbirds" TV show.
The show was made in England by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. The husband and wife team had done many shows before THUNDERBIRDS. Here are some of the shows; STINGRAY, FIREBALL XL5, SUPERCAR, and many more. In my oipinion THUNDERBIRDS was there best, combining marionettes with models to create fantastic special effects. The one hour show began it's run in 1965, and has been in reruns ever since, including a botched attempt by FOX networks to re-vamp the show and bring it back it the late 1990's. FOX tried to cut the show from one hour to a half hour, and substitute the original actor's voices with new actors voices. They even went as far as to change the opening theme song! What a disgrace for any true fan!
The special effects were created by Derek Meddings, who unfortunately has passed away. This man was a real special effects wizzard, who had a fantastic team to work with. They built all of the ships, marionettes, scenes, etc..., from scratch! They even came up with the idea of placing sound-activated motion controls inside the chest's of the marionettes to help synchronize the actor's voices with the movement of the marionettes' mouths! That's way ahead of it's time for 1965!
The ships were awesome, and each was designed for a special purpose.
This ship is designed to be the scout ship. It's fast and can be used as mobile control center. TB 1 can be flown in veritical or horizontal flight, and can land in a horizontal position with it's retractable landing gear.
The launch site is located underneath the swimming pool on Tracy Island. When TB 1 is launched the swimming pool slides out of the way, and the ship launches from beneath ground level.
This ship is my personal favorite. TB 2 is designed to be the workhorse of the group. TB 2 is usually the second ship to arrive on the scene. The cargo container located between the engine intakes in the center of the ship can carry a vast array of equipment. Some examples are: THUNDERBIRD 4 - the mini-sub, the MOLE - earth boaring machine, Excavator, FIREFLY, and much more.(These other vehicles will be discussed in detail later). Without TB 2 there would be no way of getting the equipment to where it's needed.
The launch site for TB 2 is located behind the cliff face under the observation house on Tracy Island. When TB 2 is launched, the cliff face slides straight down, the palm trees along the runway fall to a 30 degree angle (to make room for the wing span), and at the end of the runway a ramp elevates the ship to a 45 degree angle to help with the launch.
TB 3 is used to transport people and supplies into space, and is also used in space related rescues. Alan Tracy rotates tours of duty on Thunderbird-3 with his brother John Tracy. Thunderbird-3 is used to dock with the space station Thunderbird-5, and the two pilots exchange information and update each other of any situations.
The launch site for TB 3 is under the round house on Tracy Island. The house is shaped like a donut, with a huge hole in the middle of it. Thunderbird-3 lifts off from under the ground and goes through the center of the house!
TB 4 is used for under-water rescues. It is usually transported to the danger zone by Thunderbird-2. Upon arriving at the danger zone, TB 2 will drop the pod containing TB 4 into the water. The main pod door will open to form a ramp, then TB 4 is launched into the water. Once TB 4 has cleared the area, TB 2 will lower itself over the pod and pick it up.
Thunderbird-4 can also be emergency launched from a hidden site on Tracy Island.
Thunderbird-5 is the heart of the International Rescue organization. The station is constantly monitoring radio transmissions for signs of danger. Without TB 5, Jeff Tracy would have no way of knowing when or where to dispatch the rescue craft.
TB 5 is stationed in Earth's orbit, and the pilots of TB 3 & TB 5 rotate tours on a regular basis.
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