The President is the largest and fastest cruise liner ever built, whose maiden voyage between New York and Australia in The Revolution was caught up in a revolutionary plot by a group of rebels in Nicaragua.
Observing the ship depart from a New York harbour was Scott and Jeff Tracy in Thunderbird 1, who took a leave of duty to witness the momentous occasion up close.
As part of the ship's maiden voyage, it would have to pass through the newly constructed Nicaraguan Canal, which was made as a replacement for the old Panama canal, which the World Government has wished to stop using because of previous trouble. However, Nicaragua, which was thought to be a 'friendly' and safe country, still has troubles of its own. In order to highlight their ongoing poverty, a group of villagers plan to ambush the President and blow it up, in order to force the Nicaraguan government to properly distribute the wealth it is generating from the canal.
When the President passes through the canal, the rebels ram the ship and get it stuck between the two walls - causing the water level to rise and spill out of the canal. Although Juan, the leader of the rebels, wishes to evacuate the guests onboard so that no life is harmed, he loses control of the group and the rebels keep everyone inside at gunpoint. The rescue organisation races to dislodge the vessel as the surrounding villages are flooded, but Thunderbird 4 gets crushed under the liner in the process. The President is eventually dislodged, and after the canal wall is repaired the President is free to continue on its journey.
According to the cutaway of the President published in Thunderbirds The Comic, the President was launched by the then-current World President Nikita Bandranaik, and was built by New England Industries Inc for Cunard.
Technical Data[]
- Weight: Between 50,000 tons and 300,000 tons[1]
- Length: 1200 feet
- Top cruising speed: 150 knots
- Capacity: 2000 passengers, 500 crew
Cutaway Drawing[]
- Main article: History of the Cutaway Drawings (Classic Thunderbirds)
A cutaway of the President was published in issue 13 of Thunderbirds The Comic, illustrated by Graham Bleathman, to accompany the magazine's reprint of The Revolution.
Footnotes[]
- ↑ While the cutaway in The Comic stated the President to be 50,000 tons, a report published on the cover of TV Century 21 issue 134 gave the ship's weight as 300,000 tons.