![]() Underwater hatch - The vessel is equipped with a concealed opening on the underside of its hull, below the waterline, accessed via a moon pool. ![]() It included an underwater hatch for loading the bombs and giving access for divers.Īside from its underwater hatch, the vessel's cinematic counterpart came equipped with numerous pieces of equipment which were not included in the novel Thunderball, including: ![]() The Disco Volante consisted really of two vessels, a front hydrofoil and a rear attached "cocoon", this enabled the hydrofoil to be detached and move independently at high speed. With no one at the helm and the steering jammed, the ship ran aground at full speed and burst into flames. In the movie adaptation of Thunderball, the ship is destroyed during a pitched battle between Largo and Bond. Once onboard, the bombs would be relocated to an atoll hiding place awaiting the time when Largo would return with the Disco Volante to move the weapons to their target: Miami. Frogmen would then recover the warheads and return to the ship through its underwater hatch. As part of SPECTRE's plan, the Vulcan bomber would fly to the prearranged rendevous point with the Disco Volante and make a difficult landing on water, using the underwater landing lights which had been set up nearby. The Disco Volante was used primarily for the seizure and transportation of two nuclear warheads stolen from a hijacked Vulcan bomber. The "M.Y." presumably stands for the ship prefix "Motor Yacht." The crew in the movie wear shirts that say "M.Y. It is a high-tech ship that possesses a number of smaller underwater submarine craft. The craft plays a pivotal role in the seizure and transportation of two nuclear warheads. It was purchased with SPECTRE funds for £250,000. The vessel was shipped out to the Florida Keys by the South Atlantic route six months prior to the events of Thunderball and served as the method by which Largo moved their stolen atomic bombs.Ī luxurious craft, it was decked out with sleeping quarters, living areas and many other luxuries. In addition, the Disco Volante assisted Largo in maintaining his front as a millionaire treasure hunter. An expensive vessel, its design had been chosen for the organization's scheme due to its unique combination of speed, cargo/passenger space, high stability, and the essential shallow draft for Bahamian waters. With a hull of aluminium and magnesium alloy, two Daimler-Benz four-stroke diesels supercharged by twin Brown-Boveri turbo superchargers, the Disco Volante could move her 100 tons at around fifty knots, with a cruising range at that speed of around four hundred miles. The motor yacht, Disco Volante, was a hydrofoil craft, built for Emilio Largo with £200,000 of SPECTRE funds by the Italian constructors, Leopoldo Rodrigues, of Messina.
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