Double Zero said....
"I’ve always thought whoever ‘designed’ Thunderbird One had a good look at the M.52, though TB1 was supposedly good for 24,000 MPH and VTOL to boot, so I suspect may have used a different powerplant."
Aviate1138 adds.....
The designer of Thunderbird One was Derrick Meddings, who designed most of Gerry Anderson's TV Show's craft. I was T1's pilot. And T2/T3/T4 etc. They were hung on thin tungsten wires and the 'pilot' dangled over the high speed camera and 'flew' the craft to the best of one's ability. Studio temperature was usually around 120 degrees F. No air conditioning. I served in the RAF but never as a pilot. Later flew Gliders then GA then PFA reg types. Built my own CFM Shadow, CFM Star Streak 912 and SkyArrow 650T.
The merchandising spinoff from those series made the Century 21 boss Anderson and Lew Grade[ITV] a lot of money. Derrick never got a penny.
Sorry about the thread creep but 00, you started it!
Back to the M 52 - a lot of ' If only they had flown' aeroplanes might well have changed the face of aviation...... could make a good TV Documentary series.