WASP ‘Spearhead’ Bomber from ‘the 1964 TV Series ‘Stingray’ - produced by Gerry Anderson

Marineville is based 20 miles inland, and is protected by massive Hydromic missiles. There is also a fleet of aircraft, the most prominent of these is the ’Spearhead Bomber’, also known as the Vertical Take Off Hypersonic Strike Planes. These VTOL aircraft appear in a handful of episodes, most memorably in ‘Emergency Marineville’ where they are dispatched in ‘jet squadron spearhead’ to destroy a hidden base on the Island of Baal, even though Troy, Phones and Marina are being held prisoner there!

These aircraft were made from a model kit of the magnificent Convair B-58 Hustler. A supersonic (Mach 2) bomber developed in the late 1950s. The WASP bomber has the a cluster of 3 engines on the tail fin and the addition of small canards right behind the cockpit.

This painting shows the aircraft in the early evening, with Marineville in the distance. I wanted to get a sort of Cold War era mission, while maintaining the colour palette we have to expect from ‘Stingray’.

(most likely) designed by Derek Meddings

Link to ‘What If… #20 Fantasy Model Kt Box Art

WASP - World Aquanaut Security Patrol