SHADO MOBILE PLANS
Unity City has been able to obtain some classified drawings of the
S.H.A.D.O. Mobile.
This vehicle has never come off the secret list -
Officially, SHADO does not exist.
Don't let SHADO security find you in
possession of these plans.
These drawings have been retro engineered from assiduous study of
photographs and eyewitness accounts of persons who have seen SHADO Mobiles
in operation.
At Unity City we are of course unable to divulge our sources of such
sensitive material. : )
We extend our thanks to
John
Goode for his most excellent work.
Click on the plan you wish to see enlarged.
Master View
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Top View & Layout
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Powertrain
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Armament
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Human Factors
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SHADO MOBILE A FEW NOTES:
(introduction)
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In making these drawings, I had the privilege of
working with some of the people directly involved with developing very
similar tracked vehicles for the military. Rest assured the design
conclusions presented here for the SHADO Mobile were arrived at through
careful study, from the expertise and help of knowledgeable engineers in
the field. After this process, I can say the SHADO Mobile seems more
realistic than ever, and I hope it does the same for you.
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The Mobile was
obviously intended to traverse a variety of natural and rough
terrain which includes "fording" shallow rivers, streams, lakes etc.
The multitude of "venting" along the upper portion of the hull
strongly suggests that these vents allowed the Mobile to intake air
for it's various systems while partiallysubmerged in several feet of
water.
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The large
grated area above the cab was a logical choice for the engines
intake as well as intakes for other equipment, environmental and
armaments which would need fresh air for cooling etc.and it's
position above the cab works in line with the other venting at the
top of the hull, away from encountering water and debris.
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It became
necessary to incorporate two A.P.U.-Auxiliary Power Units, or more
commonly known as "generators" to accommodate the various weapon
systems and communications arrays. Existing "venting" for intake and
exhaust presented themselves nicely for this purpose.
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The equipment
situated at the very top of the cab can be explained as the
emitters, antennae and arrays common with infrared, radar, GPS
navigation, communication, spectral imaging and so forth, that would
be vital in tracking and combating Alien spacecraft, and directing
the weapon targeting for such encounters.
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The various
shaped lines on the side of the hull indicate access hatches for the
various systems, and storage of other equipment. In close-ups of the
Mobile in action on the TV series, you can sometimes make out the
wording of the labels on these hatches.
In future
instalments, we'll explore the facility where the Mobiles are stored
and maintained, and we'll explore details of the hull openings and their
operation. We'll dare to be bold and reveal what the second generation of
SHADO Mobiles would have looked like. The SHADO Mobile presented a
fascinating and fun challenge in reverse engineering. These configurations
represent one opinion, and are meant for casual enjoyment only, and to add
a sense of reality to the vehicle seen in the series. Great steps have
been taken to assure accuracy and feasibility using known technology and
engineering. The dimensional figures in feet were derived at through
careful scaling of the plasticine figures present in the cab of the
original studio model which was photographed by ITC and reprinted in
several books over the years. It became apparent those particular photos
were badly underexposed, but after digitizing, brightening and enlarging
them, amazing detail was revealed.
-John Goode March, 2000
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