Thunderball (1965) is the fourth James Bond movie. Sean Connery plays agent 007, who heads to the Bahamas to look for a missing bomber plane hijacked by the SPECTRE organisation.
Flying Saucer ('Disco Volante')[]
The yacht of villain Emilio Largo plays a very important part in the plot. She is different from other yachts by having an underwater hatch, allowing divers and underwater vehicles to enter or exit the yacht without being seen, and can also jettison the 'cocoon': The yacht's main part is left behind, while the front part transforms into a very fast hydrofoil speedboat. A hidden turret with an anti-tank gun is featured on the cocoon. Additionaly, the yacht can also produce thick black smoke to disappear from pursuer's eyesight. The real boat, a hydrofoil named Flying Fish was built by the Rodriquez Cantieri Navali shipyard in Messina, Italy. The rear part ('cocoon'), was based on an old ferry which was mocked-up as a luxury yacht by the film crew in Miami.
Bomb Sledge[]
To transport the two stolen atomic bombs, Largo and his men use this orange underwater sledge, armed with six forward-facing spear guns. Most probably this sledge was built by the film crew.
Underwater Sledge[]
Largo's men use several of these custom-built smaller underwater sledges, armed with two spear guns. Both Largo and Bond also use them during the climax.
Buehler Turbocraft[]
Domino frequently uses this boat. Buehler is an American manufacturer who renamed the model to 'Thunderball' after the success of the movie.
Evinrude Sport-16[]
Bond and his MI6 colleague Paula Caplan use an Evinrude Sport-16. Evinrude is a Wisconsin-based company, mainly producing outboard engines.
Unidentified Boat 'Omisa'[]
Bond arrives at the casino in this boat.
Unidentified Boat 'Omisa-1'[]
Yet another boat with a similar name can be seen at the casino.
Unidentified Boat[]
This boat can be seen in the background.
Unidentified Boat[]
This boat can also be seen in the background.
Unidentified Boat[]
Yet another boat seen in the background.
Unidentified Boat[]
Another boat in the background.
Unidentified Boat[]
Largo and his entourage leave the casino in this boat.
Tropic Rover[]
Bond uses this catamaran as a cover when escaping from Largo's men. The Tropic Rover was built by Catamaran of Florida in Fort Lauderdale in 1962, and sank in 1967 in the same place.
Evinrude Playmate[]
Largo's men use an Evinrude Playmate when looking for Bond.
Cape Horn[]
This U.S. Coast Guard cutter (CG 95322) is one of the ships pursuing the 'Disco Volante'. She was built in 1958 at the US Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore and sold to Uruguay in 1990, where she was renamed to 'Rio Negro', and is still active today.
Cape Knox[]
The other U.S. Coast Guard cutter is CG 95312, named 'Cape Knox'. She was built in 1955 at the US Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore and sold to a private company in 1991.
HMS Rothesay[]
The warship shooting at the 'Disco Volante' is HMS Rothesay, a British anti-submarine frigate. She was built in 1957 by Yarrow Shipbuilders in Scotstoun near Glasgow, Scotland. She was scrapped in 1988.
Based on a Racing Boat Large (36ft.)[]
This fake U.S. Coast Guard boat (CG 40410) fires at the 'Disco Volante'.This boat was also used as floating filming plateform during thunderball water scenes. This type of boat was built by Allied Marine. It was a deal between production team and Jack Manson who won in 1964 the powerboat race between Miami and Key West. Boat name was Kamikaze with X 12 race number with white painting. During filming shoot boat was painted in blue with white desk and 007 digit script. On this picture production used it as uscg boat
