Where does the inspiration behind Gerry Anderson’s Thunderbirds really come from and why has it nothing to do with an airfield in Arizona?
By Sean Feast
For fans of Gerry Anderson’s iconic series Thunderbirds, it’s long been accepted that the name was somehow a tribute to his older brother, Lionel, a wartime RAF pilot who died in service during the Second World War.
It’s often claimed, specifically, that the name comes from ‘Thunderbird Field’ — an American airbase in Arizona where Lionel trained. But while the emotional link between Thunderbirds and Lionel is absolutely real, the idea that the show was named after a training base is, in fact, a myth. And it continues to be repeated.
The true story behind the name is more nuanced — and arguably far more interesting. It came to light during my research for A Thunderbird in Bomber Command, a biography of Lionel Anderson published by Fighting High in 2015.
Flying secret operations with 515 Squadron
Lionel had a passion for flying from an early age. When war was declared, he volunteered for the RAF and was selected for pilot training in the United States — a safer location far from the Luftwaffe’s reach. Returning to Britain in late 1942, Lionel joined 515 Squadron (below) and flew 32 secret ‘Mandrel’ operations. These operations involved creating radar jamming screens to shield Allied bombers from German detection — hazardous work that cost the lives of many of his comrades.
He survived that first tour on Defiants and later converted to fly the De Havilland Mosquito on ‘Intruder’ sorties, designed to disrupt German defences ahead of a bombing raid. Tragically, Lionel was killed on his first operation in this new role, his aircraft crashing near Deelen in the Netherlands.
During his training in the U.S., Lionel wrote frequently to his family. Not once in his letters does he refer to Thunderbird Field. Instead, he consistently refers to it by its proper name, Falcon Field — the RAF’s official wartime designation for the base.
‘I have just found out that I am not the only “Flying Yid” at Falcon Field…’ he writes in one of his letters, to illustrate the point. And in another, ‘we left Falcon last Sunday and arrived here early yesterday morning.’
So if Thunderbirds was not named after the location, then where does the name come from? The answer lies in Hollywood.
Playing his part in the wartime romantic drama - Thunder Birds
In his letters, Lionel recounts his excitement about being involved as an extra in a wartime romantic drama starring Gene Tierney and Preston Foster. The film? Thunder Birds.
For more than three weeks, Falcon Field was transformed into a film set, bustling with arc lamps, cameras, and crew. RAF trainees — including Lionel — were prominently featured in scenes, especially the opening marching sequences. Lionel was thrilled, writing animatedly about rubbing shoulders with stars like Preston Foster, Reginald Denny, and Joan Fontaine:
‘I danced with Joan Fontaine. I like her,’ he wrote. ‘There is no swank about her and she is rather attractive. She dances very nicely. Nearly as well as me! So you see I am meeting quite a few celebrities here. Gracie Fields is coming to Phoenix next week and will probably come over here to our ‘drome.'
Lionel didn’t stop at being an extra. He hitched a 400-mile ride to take up Preston Foster’s offer of a visit to 20th Century Fox Studios in Hollywood. His descriptions of elaborate sets — a Hawaiian island, a bombed-out London street, a Wild West town — convey his wonder. He even met Sonja Henie and Judy Garland while he was there.
These adventures clearly made a lasting impression. His letters describe the glamour and magic of movie making with a boyish enthusiasm that clearly resonated with his younger brother Gerry. Not long afterward, Gerry abandoned his plans for a career in architecture and applied for a job at a photographic studio — a move that would ultimately lead to the creation of Thunderbirds, arguably the best known of all of his puppet-inspired creations.
(Filming Thunder Birds)
Why does the myth of the origin of Thunderbirds still endure?
So why does the myth about Thunderbird Field endure? It may simply be a case of Gerry’s memory becoming blurred over time. It’s possible that Gerry, reflecting years later, genuinely believed the name came from the base and not the film. Historian Stephen La Rivière has pointed out other instances where Gerry’s recollections diverged from recorded fact. Over time, such recollections can evolve into accepted truth — and history has been effectively re-written as a result.
But Lionel’s letters leave no doubt. On his visit to Hollywood, he makes direct reference to Thunder Birds the film, and the actor Preston Foster (left), even noting: “Of course we know him as he has been to Falcon Field several times to make the film Thunderbird...”
In penning these words, it is inconceivable that Lionel would not have linked the name of the field to the name of the film. Although the airfield received the title long after the war, and the owners (Southwest Airways) had wanted it to be known as Thunderbird Field III when it was originally acquired, during the conflict it was only ever referred to by its RAF name.
It’s time, perhaps, to finally lay to rest the myth and give credit where it’s due — not to an airfield that never bore the name during Lionel’s life, but to the film that sparked the imagination of a younger brother. A film that, through one man’s letters home and another’s boundless creativity, became the unlikely seed for one of television’s most beloved series.
(Brothers Gerry and Lionel Anderson)
