cutaway drawing
Radar and forward detector tubes
Fuselage skin refrigeration unit
Oxygen and air recycling units
Pilot cabin
Chute entry hatch
Living accomodation with fold-away bunks, etc
Entry hatch to pod overhead gallery (not shown here)
Two-man lift to floor-level pod door
Observation windows with mounted TV scanners
Two forward vtol rockets (port shown)
'Armoury' of cutting tools and drills, lasers, thermic lances, etc
Forward fuel tanks (vtol fuel)
Ramjet air intake
Hydraulic gear in airflow fairing
Twin-boom fuselage of great strength; when pod is in flying
position, the weight increase is offset by the increased
lift given by the aerofoil shape of the fuselage
Control and fuel lines
Fixed centrebody ramjet
Primary heat exchanger; liquid metal from
atomic pile superheats rammed air
Split duct bypassing rear hydraulic housing
Re-heat secondary heat exchanger
Booster rocket used in emergency and for angle launch
Ramjet thrust pipe
Four turbo jets providing power at cruising speed are housed
in 'tailplane' together with their auxiliary equipment
Magnetic bolts, solenoid actuated, engage
pod flange to lock on for flying
Rocket fuel and pumps
Ram-air turbine gives emergency electrical power
Rocket fuel oxidant
Atomic pile in lightweight shielding; supplies heat
to jet exchangers and turbo electric generators
Two rear vtol rockets (starboard shown)
Hydraulic legs raise main fuselage
clear of pod for unloading operations
Equipment-carrying pod
Overhead lighting strip
Equipment for fuelling, maintenance and
electronic checking of rescue gear
Inner stressed wall gives great
strength to light frame and outer
skin
Sliding hatch to inspection pit
Inspection spot light and oxygen cylinders
Ramp-raising gear
Turntable
Door giving access to lift when in flying position
Pod door lowers to form ramp
Mobile rescue equipment leaving pod

Technical specifications published originally in Thunderbirds 1966 Annual,
later reprinted in Dutch Albert Heyn Codes and Extra 3 Album

Thunderbird 2 launch bay
Thunderbird 2 launch bay
spout
retractable chute
cockpit
boarding facilities
The spout (1) protruding from the central girder houses the retractable covered chute (2) down which Virgil slides on his way to the cockpit of Thunderbird 2 (3).
Thunderbird 2 launch bay
access
flight information panel
computers, served by armoured cable ducts
main computer
plastiglass windows
tell-tale panel
duplicate main control dials
manual control desk
central control
(1) Access from the gallery below. (2) Flight information panel linked to the main computer (3) which also serves the analogue selection panel which can be used to determine the use of equipment at any given disaster. (5) Plastiglass covers the front and sides of the control galleries giving soundproofing and protection in the event of an accidental explosion. (6) Tell-tale panel shows the state of all the equipment in the hangar. (7) Is a duplicate of the main control dials in Thunderbird 2 used for testing purposes and (8) is the manual control desk used for positioning pods, etc.
Thunderbird 2 launch bay
workshops
conveyor belt
rock wall tunnel
Thunderbird 2
storage and maintenance bay
reservoir and pump complex
cliff door
drawbridge door
runway
section through the cliff house
electronic eye TV camera
overview
Fully equipped workshops (1) line the maintenance and pod storage bay. The pods leave this on a conveyor belt (2) which carries them through a tunnel in the rock wall (3) into position under Thunderbird 2 (4). The unwanted pods continue on into the storage and maintenance bay (5). The reservoir and pump complex (6) serves the laminated, steelbacked, rock-faced cliff door (7) which moves up and down hydraulically. When lowered, the cliff door 'trench' is covered by a second drawbridge door (8) which swings down to provide smooth access to the runway (9). (10) Is a section through the cliff house which conceals the open door from aerial view. (11) One of the many electronic eye TV cameras positioned around the bays which both convey information to Manual Control and enable pods to be positioned automatically in line with Thunderbird 2.
Thunderbird 2 launch bay
control cameras
One of the many electronic eye TV cameras positioned around the bays which both convey information to Manual Control and enable pods to be positioned automatically in line with Thunderbird 2.
Thunderbird 2 launch bay
fuel line
reverse flow feedback lines
fuel blending drum
pump
fuel distributor booms shield
fueling systems
Fuel line (1). Reverse flow feedback lines (2). Fuel blending drum (3). Pump (4). Shield over retracted fuel distributor booms (5). Cylinders of inert gas discharge automatically in case of fire creating a non-flammable atmosphere in the vicinity of the likely flash points while the warning beacon (6) bathes the whole bay in red light in the event of a mechanical emergency.
Taking into account the nature of Thunderbird 2, Brains decided against a vertical take-off craft. The launch bay therefore bears some resemblance to a conventional hangar, but the resemblance ends when one considers the details which, like all Thunderbirds equipment, are ahead of their time.

Launch bay specifications orginally published in Thunderbirds 1967 Annual

a large scale model of Thunderbird 2 photographed at Master Models
The large scale model from Master Models
image sourced from Master Models' website
Thunderbird 2 side elevation
Side Elevation
Thunderbird 2 plan
Plan
Thunderbird 2 reverse plan
Reverse Plan
Thunderbird 2 front elevation
Front Elevation
Thunderbird 2 rear elevation
Rear Elevation

Elevations published originally in Thunderbirds model sheet, later reprinted in Dutch Albert Heyn Codes

Thunderbird 2
Technical Specifications
name: Thunderbird 2
designer: Derek Meddings
other data: launch sequence