International Rescue

This article is about International Rescue as depicted in Thunderbirds. For the organisation's depiction in Thunderbirds are Go!, see International Rescue (TB2015).

The organisation's logo

"Oh, fantastic, the way the whole thing is cloaked in mystery!"
— Kyrano's Doctor

International Rescue is a secret, non-profit organisation dedicated to saving lives. Any who find themselves in danger, anywhere in the world, need only put out a call for help - on any frequency - and, from...somewhere...I.R. will hear it, and respond.

I.R. is the vision of its founder, billionaire retired astronaut Jeff Tracy, although the exact circumstances are unclear. According to one story, I.R. started as a philanthropic endeavour from Jeff, the richest man in the world, who was looking for the next chapter in his life when two fatal, yet preventable, accidents occurred only weeks apart. According to another, it was the tragic and unexpected death of his wife that propelled him to try and prevent other sudden accidents from occurring.

Jeff's five grown sons - all with their own unique technical expertise - comprise the beating heart of International Rescue... piloting the five from-sea-to-space signature Thunderbirds, along with operating additional rescue equipment capable of fantastic feats thanks to the advanced technology that I.R. possesses. Strict security is maintained - at home and in the field - to protect both the organisation itself and its many secrets, because in Jeff's own words: "If this organisation is not security tight, it cannot remain functional"...

The organisation's carefully-concealed headquarters is at Tracy Island, somewhere in the South Pacific, where the extended Tracy family resides.

History[]

Formation[]

There have been three stories that recount the formation of International Rescue.

The first was The Secrets of Tracy Island, published in the 1967 Thunderbirds Spring Extra. Here, the organisation was said to have been born out of ambition, as Jeff Tracy, said to be the richest man in the world, was looking for something new to strive for. Reading the front of that morning's newspaper, he learns that hundreds of innocent people have died in a major accident purely because there was a lack of equipment and knowledge to save them. A spark forming in his mind, Jeff weighs up the idea of forming a rescue organisation over the next two weeks, concerned that a number of problems may make the task impossible. However, another disaster strikes when a place crashes into the Pacific Ocean without chance of rescue, and the entirety of the passengers and crew have surely died. After this, Jeff becomes determined to see his rescue organisation come to life. He spends the next few months looking for a base based on three criteria: secrecy, remoteness, and suitability. Eventually, he finds island Four-fourty-five, an island atoll in the South Pacific named after its grid reference. Under the guise of an eccentric millionaire, he has no difficulty in purchasing the island, and moves his family over to build a villa themselves.

The next step was the hardest - Jeff and his sons needed to find a trusted team of people to help assemble this rescue organisation. He eventually settled on 90 men and women, which would include some of Jeff's closest friends, his old US airforce colleagues, and directors in his civil engineering company. These people would help supply intricate machinery, deliver them secretly to the island, and talented engineers. Construction initially started smoothly, taking advantage of the island's vast natural caverns to convert into aircraft hangars. However, a roadblock was quickly hit when no one on his assembled team was able to design and construct a limited amount of dedicated rescue craft. Jeff wanted only 5, capable of carrying out every kind of rescue. He travelled around the world looking for this 'genius' to no success, and he retired to Paris, almost defeated, when he stumbled upon Horatio Hackenbacker giving a lecture in a city hall. Immediately wowed by his knowledge, Jeff approached him with the idea of his rescue organisation, which Horatio immediately accepted and travelled to the island the following morning. Over time, Horatio would come to be known as 'Brains'.

Within a week, Brains had designed the five rescue craft, but it would take four years for construction to be completed on them. The last craft to be finished was the space satellite, which was ferried piece by piece into orbit and constructed there. with construction complete, the 90-person team Jeff had assembled were sent back to their normal roles in society, but with new roles as the organisation's field agents. Jeff's mother and his manservant Kyrano would now move to the island, and scheduled to be shortly joining them was Kyrano's daughter Tin-Tin. However, Tin-Tin's flight was sabotaged, which provided the perfect first rescue mission for the organisation.

The second version would be The Complete Thunderbirds Story, a mixed-media story published across many issues of Thunderbirds The Comic in the 1990s. A third version would be told in the 2008 novel Countdown To Action!.

Members[]

Field Agents[]

Chart — A chart showing agents around the world by country

International Rescue also has an extensive network of field agents, scattered in locations around the world, quietly looking out for the secret organisation's interests; including:

Trivia[]

In I.R. lexicon, "F.A.B." is used as code for understanding an order or message. It is not, however, a true acronym; in fact, it neither does stand nor has ever really stood for anything.
The I.R. logo, that of a "winged helping hand," was designed by Eddie Hunter.

International Rescue
Main Members: Jeff Tracy • Scott Tracy • John Tracy • Virgil Tracy • Gordon Tracy • Alan Tracy • Brains • Tin-Tin Kyrano Field Agents: Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward • Aloysius Parker • Roger Lyon • Jeremiah Tuttle • Sir Jeremy Hodge • Gallup Din