…open the underwater hatch…
SPECTRE Underwater Tow Sled – Thunderball (1965)
To carry out the hijacking of two nuclear bombs, SPECTRE needs specialized underwater equipment that is both practical and deadly.
Largo’s frogmen use an armada of motorized Tow Sleds armed with dual spear guns to camouflage a sunken Vulcan bomber and to escort the bomb sled which secures and transports the nuclear weapons Several appear in the climactic underwater battle.
The aquatic action was incredibly complex for its time and overseen by director Ricou Browning and underwater engineer Jordan Klein. It was Klein, together with prop-wizard John Steers, who crafted the Tow Sleds, using equipment Klein had in his dive business and designs by production designer Ken Adam. In all, Jordan Klein built 13 sleds, and most were employed on the movie.
Klein kept two of the Tow Sleds, until he was persuaded to sell them to Steve Von Born who worked in his dive shop. In the early 1990s Von Born’s was acquired by the Ian Fleming Foundation, albeit in a sorry state. This was the only one that was ever fully motorized. The rest were made to look operational by being towed or pushed by the divers.
The IFF fully restored this Tow Sled, although the remaining motors and mechanisms were removed. The original spear guns were missing so replicas were fashioned, and it was repainted with authentic marine paint.
The second Tow Sled, which Jordan Klein had kept, was sold at auction in 2014 for £20,000.
More information and some action photos can be found here.