Thunderbird 1

Thunderbird 1

Affiliation	International Rescue
References
General characteristics
Maximum speed	15,000 mph (24,000 km/h)
Armaments	Machine cannon
Propulsion	4 variable-cycle gas turbine engines 4 booster rockets 1 variable mode for launch or boost 1 vertical take off variable engine for hovering
Power	Atomic fusion reactor
Length	115 ft (35 m)
Width	80 ft (24 m)
Height	115 ft (35 m)

Thunderbird 2

Affiliation	International Rescue
References
General characteristics
Maximum speed	6,200 mph (10,000 km/h)
Armaments	Missile launcher
Propulsion	2 variable-cycle gas turbine engines 12 variable cycle cruise jets in tail plane 4 vertical take off variable engines also for hovering 4 vertical take off chemical rockets in legs
Power	Atomic fusion reactor
Length	250 ft (76 m)
Width	180 ft (55 m)
Height	60 ft (18 m)

Thunderbird 3

Affiliation	International Rescue
References
General characteristics
Maximum speed	25,200 mph (40,600 km/h) (Escape Velocity)
Propulsion	3 chemical rockets for launch 3 ion-drive particle accelerators for deep space Pitch and yaw rockets; 12 in middle ring, 20 in nose, 24 at rear
Power	Atomic fusion reactor
Length	287 ft (87 m)
Width	80 ft (24 m)
Height	287 ft (87 m)

Thunderbird 4

Affiliation	International Rescue
References
General characteristics
Maximum speed	Underwater 160 knots (300 km/h; 180 mph) Surface 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph)
Armaments	Missile tube launcher
Propulsion	6 electrically driven reversible axial-flow turbine impellers 2 axial-flow turbines providing forward thrust Emergency launch jets; 4 vertical thrust jets and 2 x 25 liquid fuel mini-rockets
Power	Atomic fusion reactor
Length	30 ft (9.1 m)
Width	11 ft (3.4 m)

Thunderbird 5

Affiliation	International Rescue
References
General characteristics
Defences	6 electromagnetic cloaking baffles Plasma cored meteor deflector
Propulsion	geosynchronous orbit 22,400 miles (36,000 km) above the pacific ocean
Power	Atomic batteries
Length	400 ft (120 m)

The Gerry Anderson Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds and the subsequent feature films Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6 (1965–68) featured a large variety of futuristic air, land and sea vehicles and machines, the majority of which were designed by special effects director Derek Meddings.

In the context of the series, most of the advanced machines appearing in the series belonged to the International Rescue organisation and were used during their rescues. These were known as the "Thunderbirds", of which there were five core machines and a variety of other rescue craft. It was after these that the series was named. In the series, all of the International Rescue vehicles were designed by the organisation's resident technical genius, Brains.

The use of these models in Anderson's Supermarionation productions beginning with Supercar was a significant advance in television production. Before Supermarionation, scale models had generally been limited to the cinema. Meddings's models introduced a new level of realism and quality; 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. This dirt and wear was applied as a way of adding realism and countering the miniature models' toy-like appearance.

These effects were to be influential, and Century 21 modelmakers went on to work on Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and the EON James Bond films. The relative scale of these vehicles is a matter of debate, especially the rocket-based designs. Many of the Thunderbirds machines have subsequently been made into toys, models, kits or other merchandising, although none of the original filming models survive.

International Rescue's fleet consists of 5 principal craft; the Thunderbirds:

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