Thunderbird 1
Length
This is never stated in the show.
In Martian Invasion there is an excellent view of Thunderbirds 1 and 2 side by side.
Jeff Tracy states in the Introducing Thunderbirds mini-album that TB1 stands 90 feet tall. This is just before the launch of TB1 and so refers to it when standing in the hangar and launch bay. This length is borne out in Martian Invasion and other episodes.
The original publicity materials state 115 feet.
Firepower
The cannon is powerful enough to destroy stone buildings (Thunderbird 6).
Speed
In Move And You’re Dead, Scott is seen racing to save his brother’s life, so the speed he reports is certainly the craft’s top speed. No greater speed is every mentioned. In Trapped In The Sky the London Airport personnel record Thunderbird 1’s speed as it approaches the airport.
FAB Factor
Thunderbird 1 is a unique, high-performance machine capable of vertical take-off and landing. It is equipped with numerous pieces of specialised equipment. It is used in dangerous situations and as part of International Rescue it exists solely to save lives!
Year
First appears in Season 1 (also see introductory page).
Thunderbird 2
Length
250 feet is the length stated in the original publicity materials and is generally accepted. And it works! This number is supported in several instances when the aircraft is seen relative to other vehicles.
The shot of the Tiger Moth exiting the pod in Thunderbird 6 looks spot on for 250 feet (although the shape of the Pod in this scene is quite ‘round’).
This size is borne out in comparison to Thunderbird 1 (see above) in the shot looking down from the Hood’s camera position in Martian Invasion. This is the best view of TB2 and TB1 together as there is a ground plane. There is a shot in City Of Fire when Scott parks a red 1960s convertible, probably about 18 feet long, next to the Pod and this looks correct. The scaling is similar in Move And You’re Dead when we see Brains driving the Neutralizer tractor out of the pod.
The shots in Operation Crash-Dive when Thunderbird 2 is nestled under the wing of the Fireflash are ludicrous and need to be discounted!
Firepower
Equipped with missiles (powerful enough to create a landslide (Martian Invasion) and a cannon (Thunderbird 6) which is powerful enough to destroy stone buildings.
Speed
All we know for sure about Thunderbird 2’s speed is in Terror In New York City when Virgil is returning to base and reports that he is flying at 5,000 mph. Virgil is clearly in no rush, so we can conclude this is not the top speed. Thunderbird 2 seldom arrives at the danger zone much after Thunderbird 1. In Move And You’re Dead and Edge Of Impact we see Thunderbird 1 and Thunderbird 2 launch at the same time. The two arrive within minutes each other.
FAB Factor
Thunderbird 2 is a unique, high-performance machine! It is used in dangerous situations and as part of International Rescue it exists solely to save lives!
Year
First appears in Season 1 (also see introductory page).
Thunderbird 3
Length
Jeff Tracy states the height, or length, in Give Or Take A Million. In Ricochet the size comparison between Thunderbird 3, Alan and the KLA satellite and later on with Thunderbird 2 and the KLA satellite all ties up well with the lengths indicated in Fab Challenge.
The original publicity materials state 200 feet. The Round House as seen in Season 1 seems to favour this size, but actually suggests TB3 would be even smaller.
Firepower
Thunderbird 3 never uses any form of weaponry, and nothing is ever discussed.
Speed
There is no speed stated for Thunderbird 3. However, in Sun Probe right after lift-off Alan states that their initial destination to fire the safety beam will be reached in 65 hours. During the episode Thunderbird 3 shows no sign of external damage. By contrast we see the hull of Sun Probe begin to smoulder from the growing heat. Sun Probe is much closer to the sun. A key factor used in working out the speed is the internal temperature. How well the internal cooling systems and computers can cope with the increasing heat.
A bit of science. The temperature on the Sun is calculated to be between 9,000 and 10,000 Kelvin. There are scientific explanations that state the atmosphere on Venus is actually about 100K hotter than Mercury which is 10 million miles closer to the Sun. Either way the heat fall-off towards the Earth is a gradual decrease starting at Mercury to the Earth and increases dramatically between Mercury and the Sun. Sun Probe is probably in an orbit in this general area.
The temperature in Earth’s orbit is 394K (249oF). We can assume that Thunderbird 3, and Thunderbird 5, can comfortably maintain an interior temperature of around 20oC/68oF/294 Kelvin – room temperature. And in fact can probably reduce the internal temperature to 0oF/253K if required. In other words the refrigeration unit can reduce the temperature by 141K.
In Pit Of Peril the heat of the Sidewinder’s hull is measured as a blistering 220oF (377K) and the courageous and rugged US Army men remain conscious, although they do suffer severe burns. We can assume that Alan and Scott can withstand similar heat, so by graphing the gradual increase in heat toward Venus (at 755K) and reducing this by 141K for the internal temperature until that reaches approximately 377K we have the distance Thunderbird 3 has to travel in order to fire the safety beam before the crew become unconscious or the ship becomes damaged. This means Thunderbird 3 travels 8.1 million miles in 65 hours.
Given the dangers involved in this rescue, and the energy drain TB3 endures from powering the safety beam we can assume TB3 is flying at top speed on this mission.
FAB Factor
Thunderbird 3 is a unique, high-performance machine. It is used in dangerous situations and as part of International Rescue it exists solely to save lives!
Year
First seen in Season 1 (also see introductory page).
Thunderbird 4
Length
Using the length of Thunderbird 2 as a base, the size of Thunderbird 4 has been derived from the shot of it launching from the Pod into the ocean.
Firepower
Thunderbird 4 is equipped with high powered missiles (Mighty Atom and Day Of Disaster) and a high powered laser cutter.
Speed
Thunderbird 4 is usually seen only travelling short distances. In Terror In New York City when TB2 is not available, Jeff says if Gordon went all the way to New York in TB4 as he suggests he’d only get there in time for Ned Cook’s funeral. This is of course not a practical statement; he is saying this to make a point. However, funerals typically don’t take place until at least one week after death. We don’t know the exact location of Tracy Island, we know it is somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. If we were to take the distance from Hawaii to New York – by sea it is 7,250 miles. Covering this distance in seven days gives 1,035 miles per day, which seems like a reasonable speed for TB4 (the fastest submarine in the 1960s was the Russian/Soviet K222 in the 1960s clocking around 44 knots/52mph).
FAB Factor
Thunderbird 4 is a unique, high-performance machine. It is used in dangerous situations and as part of International Rescue it exists solely to save lives!
Year
First appears in Season 1 (also see introductory page).
Thunderbird 5
Length
Using the size of Thunderbird 3 and analysing the shot of it docked with Thunderbird 5 the size of the space station can be extrapolated. This dimension excludes the smaller antennae attached to the gold ring.
Firepower
Thunderbird 5 is never shown to use any weaponry or defensive systems, nor is this ever discussed.
Speed
Thunderbird 5 is never shown to move under its own power, nor is this ever discussed. It is a geo-stationary satellite.
FAB Factor
Thunderbird 5 is a unique, highly sophisticated space station. It has a non-glamourous role, but has the capability to pick up even the weakest radio signal and alert the on-duty space monitor. As part of International Rescue, it exists solely to save lives!
Year
First appears in Season 1 (also see introductory page).
FAB 1
Length
In Day Of Disaster we get a good view of FAB 1 compared to a British police officer standing right next to the car. Assuming the standard six feet tall human the car was scaled accordingly.
Firepower
FAB 1 has machine guns and a central cannon, capable of damaging buildings and small aircraft such as helijets and helicopters.
Speed
No speed is specified in the show, and its speed is never really put to the test. An Aston Martin DB5 – James Bond’s car in Goldfinger – has a stated top speed of 145mph. For gameplay purposes it should not be as fast as an SPV.
FAB Factor
FAB 1 is a unique automobile, bullet proof and equipped with many special weapons and gadgets to assist in supporting International Rescue on special missions (The Perils Of Penelope, 30 Minutes After Noon, Brink Of Disaster, The Duchess Assignment, Lord Parker’s ‘Oliday, Thunderbirds Are Go). As part of International Rescue, it exists solely to save lives!
Year
First appears in Season 1 (also see introductory page).
The Mole
Length
Using the size of Thunderbird 2 as a base, the size of The Mole can be calculated based on shots of it exiting the Pod. City Of Fire has some clear views. Using the height of the Mole compared to the pod door a size can be established and from here a profile image was scaled to this, giving the length. The ‘Jet Mole’ can be seated in different positions on the trolley, but this is irrelevant to the overall length as the Mole is longer than the trolley.
Firepower
The Mole has no weaponry shown or discussed.
Speed
This is the burrowing speed through commonplace soft rock. Although this speed varies depending on the makeup of the terrain.
FAB Factor
The Mole is a unique machine and is highly advanced, capable of tunnelling underground at speed. As part of International Rescue, it exists solely to save lives!
Year
First appears in Season 1 (also see introductory page).
Fireflash
Length
There is a direct size comparison between Thunderbird 2, the Elevator Cars and the Fireflash.
Using the shot of the elevator cars emerging from the pod and scaling these to Thunderbird 2, then scaling a profile view of the Fireflash sitting on the elevator cars to that image the size was identified. This was further finessed using the top view of the Fireflash.
Firepower
None, as Fireflash is a civil airliner.
Speed
The Fireflash is often identified as “the Mach 6 atomic airliner”, which John says in Trapped In The Sky.
FAB Factor
The Fireflash is a wonder of the age, clearly highly advanced within the world of Thunderbirds. It is also a beautiful airliner and heavily featured in the show.
Year
First appears in Season 1 (also see introductory page).
Firefly
Length
Like many of the International Rescue pod vehicles, the Firefly runs on the same 4-wheel caterpillar track system as The Mole as well as many of the tracked vehicles in Thunderbirds. A profile image of the Firefly was scaled to the Mole.
The length excludes the dozer blade.
Firepower
The Firefly has a powerful cannon which can destroy small buildings or snuff out oil fires.
Speed
No speed is given. In Terror In New York City , we see the Firefly driving along an open road, and seems to be doing about 10 miles an hour. As the mission is over, we can assume this is not the stop speed.
FAB Factor
The Firefly is a powerful machine specially designed to combat large fires. As part of International Rescue, it exists solely to save lives!
Year
First appears in Season 1 (also see introductory page).
Sidewinder
Length
There is direct reference of its size at the end of Pit Of Peril when we see the Sidewinder standing next to Copter Watchdog with two men standing nearby. The size has been calculated from these shots based on the standard of a human at 6ft. This length does not include the arms, as the multi jointed design makes this variable, although when in a somewhat default semi-circular pose this adds considerably to the length.
Firepower
Although we do not see any of the weaponry in use, this is a US Army vehicle, clearly armed to the teeth with four gun turrets on top, two cannons on either side and four cannons underneath.
Speed
There is no mention of speed in the episode. During the jungle testing, we see the machine moving at a speed of approximately 1 body length in 18 seconds. As this is during testing it is probably not moving at its full speed. Similarly, when we see it head off across the desert to the rendezvous point we can surmise that it is also not travelling at top speed, but a safe cruising speed (the speed when seen walking across the desert and in the jungle appear to be very similar). Assume a top speed of twice the cruising speed.
A TV21 Annual stated a top speed of 50 mph.
FAB Factor
The Sidewinder is a wonder of the age, clearly highly advanced within the world of Thunderbirds. Despite its limited screen time, it is one of the most memorable vehicles to appear in the series!
Year
First appears in Season 1 (also see introductory page).
Crablogger
Length
There are several shots showing the crew standing right next to the vehicle prior to boarding and we can clearly identify the size (using the standard 6ft human) compared to one of the wheels and extrapolate the size from this. This length does not include the moveable chainsaw or arms.
Firepower
The Crablogger has no weaponry.
Speed
The Crablogger seems to travel at a constant speed throughout the episode, whether simply driving along open land or when generating wood pulp. This speed is calculated based on the distance it travels on-screen.
FAB Factor
The Crablogger is an incredible piece of machinery. It is possibly unique although this is unclear. One of the greatest machines to appear in any Anderson show.
Year
Appears only in Season 2 (also see introductory page).
Zero X
Length
There is a direct size comparison between Thunderbird 2 and the Zero X during the rescue. Using the length of TB2 the Zero X is scaled accordingly. This length does not include the detachable chrome nose cone. The Lifting Bodies do not add to the overall length.
Firepower
We see the Martian Exploration Vehicle use a powerful cannon when confronted by the rock snakes. The cannon makes short work of the creatures, suggesting significant destructive power.
Speed
No speed for the Zero X is stated. However, Jeff Tracy says that it will take six weeks for Zero X to return to Earth. The distance between the Earth and Mars varies between 34 million miles at the closest, 250 million miles at the farthest. We have assumed the average distance of 140 million miles as no distance is stated in the film. The meeting to discuss the very fine report on the Zero X crash takes place 24 months after the crash and two months until “Mars is in a good position for a second attempt”. But this is not emphasized and there is no discussion about coordinating the Zero X mission with the optimal orbit of Mars (unlike Day Of Disaster with the MSP mission as a four year cycle) and this just feels like less of a stringent issue.
So six weeks, or 42 days to travel 140 million miles.
FAB Factor
The Zero X is a wonder of the age, clearly highly advanced as we have only seen rockets used for interplanetary travel (Sun Probe, Martian Space Probe) up to this point. The complex multi-assembly is a striking feature. The first mission to put people on Mars. It is the ‘star’ of the movie Thunderbirds Are Go.
Year
First appears in Thunderbirds Are Go (also see introductory page).
Skyship One
Length
During the rescue in Thunderbird 6 there is a shot that clearly shows Skyship One and Thunderbirds 1 and 2 in profile. This was scaled to Thunderbird 2.
Firepower
Skyship One is a civil airliner and no weapons are shown.
Speed
No speed is mentioned. The idea behind the aircraft is to rekindle the romance of air travel with luxury and comfort. Skyship One is never shown travelling at any sort of high speed, nor is this discussed as an attribute. That said, it is the 21st century, and it is designed by Brains, so a speed comparable to a present-day airliner seems credible.
FAB Factor
The airship is designed by Brains, is a wonder of the age with its anti-gravity technology and is the star of the movie Thunderbird 6.
Year
Appears only in Thunderbird 6 (also see introductory page).
Thunderbird 6
Length
This aircraft is a real thing, a classic Tiger Moth. Despite its later designation it does not feature any special upgrades. It is part of Brains’ romanticized recreation of the early days of flight.
Firepower
The aircraft has no weaponry.
Speed
The speed is not mentioned in the movie. This is the top speed listed for a De Havilland Tiger Moth.
FAB Factor
Although designated as a ‘Thunderbird’ machine, this is an ordinary, old fashioned biplane aircraft. But it is heavily featured in the movie named after it and is involved in saving the people on the stricken Skyship One.
Year
The Tiger Moth was invented in 1931.