Original subtitles

Five...

four...

three...

two...

one.

Thunderbirds are go.

Just look at that thing. It's like a monster from another planet.

Yeah. Nothing can stand in its way.

Sidewinder to 'copter Watchdog. Jungle test complete.

How did she look from up there, General?

She looked just fine, Sweeney. What a machine. How did she handle?

Like a breeze. Nothing can stop the Army now, sir.

OK. Fine. That wraps up the tests.

The relief crew is on its way by Helijet. Right, sir.

I want you boys to know I think you've done a swell job.

Thanks, sir. The Sidewinder's OK, but it'll be good to have a rest.

You head for rendezvous point nine.

The Helijet will take you back to base.

Point nine it is, sir. Sidewinder out.

Well, guess that's it, boys. Trials are over.

Oh, the Sidewinder is just what the Army needs

for these bushfire wars that keep springing up.

We have the transport to get to the trouble spots

before they get too heated. That's it, Ralph.

Any word from the relief crew? Yes, sir.

The Helijet is heading for point nine now. Great.

OK, Captain, take us back to base. Yes, sir.

Will I be glad to get back to base. And how!

Three weeks in this tin can is not exactly my idea of heaven.

Oh, it hasn't been too bad.

Seeing nothing but steaming jungle every day could drive a guy nuts.

It's all over now. We can have a long rest.Sure.

Heading for point nine.

The relief crew can take this beauty back to camp from there.

'Copter Watchdog to Sidewinder. Do you read me?

General Peters, the Sidewinder, it's gone, disappeared. What?

Get back there, Captain, and fast.

I can't see for the smoke.

Wait. There's a hole down there.

'Copter Watchdog to Sidewinder. Do you read me?

Come in, Sidewinder.

This is 'copter Watchdog. Can you hear me?

Come in, Sidewinder.

No reply. They must be out cold.

I hope it's only that, General.

Copter Watchdog, this is Helijet. Go ahead, Helijet.

At rendezvous point nine. No sign of Sidewinder.

There's been some trouble. Head for reference two-seven immediately.

We'll need your assistance. 'Copter Watchdog out.

What are we gonna do? I don't know.

I'll try and reach Sidewinder again.

This is 'copter Watchdog.

Come in, Sidewinder. Acknowledge.

Come in, Sidewinder.

Frank. Johnny. Hey, what hit me?

This is 'copter Watchdog. Do you read me?

Hello, 'copter Watchdog. This is Sidewinder.

Sweeney, you're OK?

Yeah, a few bruises, but we're all still in one piece.

Thank heavens you're safe. Now, how does it look down there?

We've tipped over on our side. That means we can't move.

How far down are you?

General, we're 300 feet down.

300 feet! Ralph, what do we do?

The Sidewinder weighs upwards of 500 tonnes.

We'll need some pretty heavy lifting gear.

But this is the middle of a wilderness.

It would take weeks to get equipment down here.

Excuse me, sir. I'll have to move the 'copter clear.

The heat is building up.

If we hover here, we'll need a rescue team ourselves.

OK, Captain.

Get her down beside the crater, Captain. Right, sir.

The Helijet should be here soon.

Yeah, let's hope we can work something out.

'Copter Watchdog, from Helijet. What gives, General?

Shut down your engines and disembark.

I'll fill you in on the details.

OK, Ralph, let's go. Turn off the motors, Captain. Yes, sir.

What I'd like to know is how we got down here.

I guess, the ground just opened and swallowed us.

Yeah, but how do we get out? This whole pit seems to be on fire.

We'll be OK for a while.

The automatic cooling plant switched itself on.

But the atomic reactor was due for refuelling.

It won't hold out forever.

Now, here's the situation.

The Sidewinder is on its side.

Can't we haul it out, sir? No. Talk sense, Lieutenant.

The machine weighs 500 tonnes.

No heavy lifting equipment

could reach here inside of two weeks at the minimum.

Couldn't we use the 'copter and Helijet?

We're talking about the Sidewinder not some 1,000-pound field car.

Begging your pardon, General,

but I figure the first thing is to go down there and take a look.

But that would be suicide. That pit is an inferno.

One of the 'copters could lower me down on a line

just long enough for me to assess the situation.

I don't know, Mead. It's... It's too dangerous.

You could be burned alive.

If we don't do something soon, General,

there'll be no could be about it for the Sidewinder crew.

Oh, very well, Lieutenant.

Make arrangements with the Helijet pilot. And thanks.

Atomic reactor operating at normal, Colonel.

Swell, Frank. Let's hope it stays that way.

Sidewinder from Helijet. Lieutenant Meade here.

I'm going to attempt a reconnaissance.

What's the temperature outside the machine?

The gauge reads 220 degrees Fahrenheit.

Don't try it. You'll fry.

If only he had some kind of protective clothing.

His oxygen mask will help him to breathe.

But it's not gonna keep him cool.

Switching over to Lieutenant Mead's frequency, sir.

Connect up to the tannoy speaker, Captain.

I want us all to listen carefully.

Mead won't get much time to talk.

When he does, we've got to get it right.

OK, let's go, Charlie. Yes, sir. I'll be waiting for your command.

Fine. When I yell, you get me out of there fast.

There goes a brave man, Ralph.

Lower away.

I'm 50 feet down now.

But still no sign of Sidewinder, Charlie.

Gee, it looks a real inferno down there.

Those guys are in some danger.

Go ahead, John.

.I've just picked up some US Army transmissions, Father.

One of their new Sidewinders

.seems to has fallen into some kind of underground fire.

One of the officers has gone down to take a look.

OK, John. Let's have a listen to him. Switching you through now.

100 feet down.

I can't see a thing. The smoke is too thick.

The temperature's rising.

Let go more line.

220 feet down.

Hold on, Lieutenant. You can make it.

270 feet.

Jeepers! My blood seems to be boiling.

The smoke's too thick.

I'm gonna... I'm gonna have to go down all the way.

I'll only have a second.

Be ready, Charlie boy. OK, sir.

Here we go.

I-I can... see it.

Get me up, Charlie.

Now! Aaagh!

Here he comes.

Get a stretcher. Hurry, Sergeant!

I think this frequency should be put on priority monitoring.

The situation could get pretty desperate.

Why don't I shoot out there, Father? See if they want any help.

It wouldn't take long. No, Scott.

We can't go shoving our noses into this uninvited.

For all we know, the army might be engaged on a top-secret operation.

John? Yes, Father.

John, I want you to keep this frequency clear.

Down here, I'm gonna put Scott .on emergency standby. FAB, Father.

All right, Scott. Get down to Thunderbird 1

and get her ready for launching. On my way.

If the Army decide they want our help,

we don't want to keep them waiting a minute longer than necessary.

We... we could do it, sir.

Take it easy, Lieutenant.

You're in a bad way. I'll be OK.

Get a line...

Haul it upright.

Get him into the shade. Keep the sun off of him. Yes, sir.

See to it, Captain.

I'm going down to fix that line on Sidewinder.

Begging your pardon, sir, but this is not your kind of job.

There's no time to argue. No-one's arguing, sir.

You're a technical man.

It's a question of a man best equipped to succeed.

He's right, Ralph.

Anyway, you'll be needed here by the radio

to give the necessary instructions to Sidewinder,

if we can get it upright.

Atomic reactor down 20 points, Colonel.

Down 20?! That means the cooling plant is under strength.

We'll be warming up in here from now on.Right.

Sidewinder, from Sergeant Reynolds.

I'm coming down to try and slip a line

over one of the machine's legs.

The temperature outside is up to 265 degrees.

Yeah, I'll have to work fast.

If I make it, we'll be able to haul you upright.Great.

Then maybe we can climb out of here.

OK, Charlie. Let's go.

150 feet down. Speed it up, Charlie.

The shorter time I'm down here the better.

Hold it.

I'm 300 feet down. Can you reach the Sidewinder?

I don't know...

I... I can't see much.

Move it over, Charlie. Straight ahead.

Slow and easy... until I yell.

I'm ten yards away.

Reynolds, are you OK?

OK.

Ugh... OK.

Winch up! Argh!

Come on, get him up! Argh!

He's still alive.

OK.

Now, drop the new line as close to us as you can.

Then get Reynolds and Lieutenant Mead to base hospital.

And make it fast. We'll take it from here. Yes, sir.

Hitch the cable to the 'copter, Ralph. Right, General.

Thanks to the Lieutenant and Reynolds,

we'll soon be outta here, boys.

Copter Watchdog, from Helijet.

Heading for base hospital, General.

Right. Use all speed.

Those boys need attention.

OK, Captain. Get moving.

We've got to get the Sidewinder off its side.

The line's broken. Yeah, but did we make it or not?

Sidewinder from 'copter Watchdog.

What is your attitude? It's no good, General.

We're back on our side again. But it was sure a good try.

There's only one thing left to do, General.

I'll go down there and try again.

I don't like it, Ralph.

Two brave men have been badly injured in that pit.

I don't know if I should risk another life.

But we must keep trying, General.

There are three men trapped down there.

If only we weren't so darn far from civilization.

We'd stand a remote chance of effecting a rescue but...

Rescue. You said rescue, General. That's the answer.

Yeah, that's the answer.

Calling International Rescue. Calling International Rescue.

This is General Peters, US Army.

Vital defence weapon in immediate danger.

Crew of three trapped.

Go ahead, John.

Father, General Peters has just radioed in.

They do want our help.

All right, John. Tell them we're on our way. Yes, Father.

Scott, it's action stations.

Thunderbirds are go. FAB.

Changing to horizontal flight.

Still no word from that International Rescue outfit.

I'm certain they're doing their best, sir.

Yeah, I guess they are,

but I'm worried about those guys down there.

International Rescue Space Station, Thunderbird 1.

Have you had any more information, John?

Information to date tells us

that this machine fell into a crater some 300 feet in depth.

It's a blazing inferno. The machine weighs some 500 tonnes.

And it's on its side, which means it can't move.

Origin of crater unknown.

Meaning we need the heavy gear

and since we don't know much about this crater,

we ought to have Brains along.

Go ahead, Scott.

Latest information from Space Station

indicates need for Thunderbird 2 carrying Pod 5.

And we'll need Brains along. Right, Scott.

OK, Virgil. Brains. You heard him.

We're on our way, Father. Pod 5 it is.

Selecting Pod 5.

OK, Brains, here we go.

How's the cooling plant standing up, Johnny?

I checked a minute ago,

and she'll only hold out for a couple of more hours.

How long will the hull stand up to that heat outside?

General Peters, sir? There's a call coming in for you.

Thunderbird 1 to General Peters.

I've sighted your position on radar, I'll be with you in four minutes.

It can't be too soon for us, pal.

The heat from that crater is fantastic.

You're gonna find it tough going.

I'd say the temperature's rising. There's some smoke getting in.

The hull has cracked. She'll break up.

Start the air purifier and try to plug those fractures.

I'll increase the cooling plant output and try to cool the walls.

General Peters from Thunderbird 1,

is there any news from the trapped men?

I'm afraid not. Their radio failed ten minutes ago.

Can you increase the air-purifying system?

The exhaust fan's at full power.

The cooling plant's at full stretch, too.

Well, let's hope it holds out. How are you doing with that crack, Johnny?

These soaked rags are helping, but the heat is terrific on the hull.

Keep at it, boys. We've got to hold on.

What's the score, General? How long can these fellows hold out?

They've got full air conditioning and a cooling plant,

but at full power, it can't last more than another two hours.

Right. Other members of our organisation will be arriving soon

with heavy rescue equipment.

Meanwhile, I'll set up our remote TV camera

so that we can take a look and see what goes on down there.

Thunderbird 1 from Thunderbird 2, how does it look?

I'm about to send a remote camera into the crater.

It'll give us an idea of what we're up against. Right, Scott.

Hey, that thing will burn up. It's OK.

The camera is specially constructed to withstand extreme heat.

Good. It's working fine.

Thunderbird 1. Virgil here.

Landed at rescue zone. What's the next move?

I'm on my way over. Tell Brains to stand by.

This is a tough one. Right.

This is hopeless.

As soon as the heat dries the rags out, they catch fire.

At least it stops some of the smoke.

Gee...

this heat's getting unbearable.

Oh, what's keeping those guys?

It's about time we had some action from them.

I guess they're doing their best, General.

It's a tough thing we're asking them to do.

Look, Brains. What's that?

Er... that's it. That confirms it.

Well? Well, way back in the past,

this must have been an opencast mine.

When it was exhausted, a large crater would have been left.

And it was used as a dump for military equipment

after the Second World War. That explains the US Army wreckage.

Well, I still don't get it.

I-I-I'll show you on this diagram I've drawn.

The pit was filled in.

A-a-and over the years, a new crust of topsoil has formed.

A spontaneous combustion

caused a slow smouldering fire,

consuming the dumped equipment.

Now, the weight of the Sidewinder

caused the thin crust of topsoil to collapse

at its weakest point.

We have to remove the remainder of the crust

so that the Sidewinder can be dragged up the side of the pit.

I'm at the bottom, Scott. Right, Virgil.

Can you see the Sidewinder?

No, the smoke is too dense.

It's like the inside of a blast furnace down here.

I'm starting to lay charges.

OK, General. You can draw in the cable and get clear of the smoke.

Virgil's at the bottom. How are you gonna get him out of there?

Well, we have a machine we call the Mole, General.

Scott is about to operate it.

You'll see it in action.

Thunderbird 2 Lab, the Mole,

proceeding to drilling position.

The cooling... plant...

has-has... eight... minutes...

I can't... I can't breathe.

Frank! Hang on, boy!

Mole from Virgil. One more charge to lay, Scott.

Good. Be with you in a few minutes.

Thunderbird 2 from Mole.

Burrowing at 70-degree angle.

Do you read me on tracker screen?

Loud and clear, Scott.

Right, right, four degrees.

Four degrees. FAB.

Turn made.

I've come up against an obstruction.

It's hardcore granite, Scott.

Detour two degrees left.

Then return to original course.FAB.

Mole from Virgil. Final charge laid.

OK, Virgil. Approaching side of crater now.

Three degrees left, Scott. Then you should be through.

Thanks, Brains.

Going much easier now.

We'll be breaking into pit in a few seconds.

Fine, Scott. Ready to detonate explosives on your instructions.

Ready to emerge into crater.

OK, Virgil, come aboard. OK, Scott. Approaching you now.

Thunderbird 2 Lab from Mole. Virgil aboard.

Right, prepare to withdraw. OK, Brains.

Are you ready, Virgil? Taking up rear cabin position now.

Operating reverse motors.

OK, Brains, we're clear of area. Go ahead.

Detonating charges...

..now!

What are they trying to do, blow us out of here?

Only a few more minutes...

and the cooling plant packs up.

What's holding you guys up now?

My men down there have less than two minutes left.

We're doing the best we can, General.

Lab to Recovery Vehicle 1.

A-a-are you in position, Virgil?

Nearly ready, Brains.

Recovery Vehicle 1, power OK.

Remote Control Vehicle 2, operation positive.

Moving out... now!

Ready to fire magnetic lines.

Uh, remote guidance seven left,

four right, right.

This is it. We're breaking up.

Electromagnets in position. Recovery Vehicle engines in transmission.

Hey! We're moving.

We're moving!

Remote Control Vehicle's skidding again.

One of the lines has failed.

I'll have to wind it in and fire again.

Firing again. Let's hope it's not damaged.

Line in place. Starting motors again.

Hey! We're sliding back.

We're safe.

It's... It's a miracle.

They've got us out of the pit...

How you doin', fella? Just great, mister.

You must be the guy who hauled us out of that pit.

One of them. The others are about to leave.

I'll never know how to thank you, buddy. You saved our lives.

The Colonel's right. Forget it.

I'm glad we could help. All you've got to do now is get well again.

How about the other man? Guess he's out cold.

Oh, he'll be OK. Mister, I guess he'd have liked to have been awake,

so I'll say it for him.

Thanks. Thanks for all of us.

Scott from Thunderbird 2. I'm about to lift off.

See you back at base. FAB.

Sidewinder's saved and no casualties.

What can I do to thank you?

All part of the service. But if you want to help,

just make sure that no-one tracks our aircraft.

It's vital that our operation remains a closely-guarded secret.

That, Scott, is the least we can do.Thanks.

Thank you.

Boy! What I'd give to have those guys in my force.