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The Flying Sub
Web site by: Phil
Broad
This model represents one of the most original and interesting vehicle concepts presented in science fiction film or TV, a submarine which also is capable of flight. From the TV series "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", the "Flying Sub" or FS-1 as it was sometimes referred to, was used as an auxiliary craft for the nuclear powered submarine "Seaview". Housed in a purpose built hangar in the nose of the Seaview, the Flying Sub would drop through an opening in the underside of the hull then be free to navigate to its destination independent of the Seaview's mission. Much like the "Galileo Shuttlecraft" of Star Trek fame, the Flying Sub was a handy way to inject new characters into a given episode or transport characters into or out of dangerous situations, independent of those remaining onboard the Seaview. Thanks to the magnificent miniature effects work of Howard Lydecker and L.B. Abbott, audiences were regularly treated to dramatic scenes of the Flying Sub's launching, exploding through the surface of the sea into flight, aerial maneuvering, diving into the the sea and re-docking with the Seaview.
This Miniature
The miniature seen above is the extremely rare variant with retractable "landing gear". It also features operating "grabber claws" for working remotely with objects outside the ship. This is an extremely complicated miniature which required a great deal of mechanical engineering to produce and therefore must also have cost a great deal of money. Yet this expensive prop only appeared in two episodes of the show, one being the very last of the series. By turning the crank handles on the control board it is possible to extend or retract the arms, bend left or right at the "elbows", bend up or down at the "wrists" and open or close the claws. From the appearance of the mounting plates at the rear it is apparent that only the front of this miniature was intended to be seen on screen. It was probably mounted to some sort of boom-arm which could be raised and lowered into the water. The landing gear also functions, being fully retractable as well. By its appearance the gear seems to be intended to allow the Flying Sub to run along the bottom of the ocean rather than representing gear for landing on a runway. The wheel design seems to be based on lunar rover and mobile lunar habitat designs which were being studied in the mid 1960's.
Please contact me if you have comments about these images or corrections to the information presented here via E-Mail.