"Aquaphobia" is an original short story that was published in the Thunderbirds Annual 1969. As with all stories in the annual, no writer is credited.
Synopsis[]
The galleon Santa Domenico has been discovered, after its centuries long slumber at the bottom of an ocean trench. Explorers Frank and Tim are overjoyed at their discovery, even more so when they discover its hold is full of gold coins. But their arrival disturbs the wreck, which is pushed deeper into the trench. The explorers follow it down, but their bathysphere can't handle any more pressure and Tim sends out a call for help. Frank is enraged, both at Tim and at his rescuer, but after laying eyes on Thunderbird 4 he realises the galleon might not be out of his reach after all...
Characters[]
(in order of appearance)
- Tim Matthews
- Frank Delaney
- John Tracy
- Jeff Tracy
- Virgil Tracy
- Gordon Tracy
IR Equipment Used[]
Trivia[]
- The story contains certain similarities to The Uninvited, with someone going insane after discovering vast hoards of treasure and betraying their partner. A search in an underwater trench for lost treasure would much later be seen again in Up from the Depths Part 1, with the Mechanic after the remnants of TV-21.
- In 2022, Aquaphobia was released as an audiobook as part of Anything Can Happen, a TV Century 21-branded collection of stories published by Anderson Entertainment. It would be narrated by Wayne Forester.