Gerry Anderson's UFO Skydiver Scale Models

Gerry Anderson’s UFO Skydiver

UFO is a 1970 British science fiction television series about the ongoing covert efforts of a government defence organisation to prevent an alien invasion of Earth. It was created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade’s Century 21 Productions for Grade’s ITC Entertainment company.

The series’ premise is that in 1980, Earth is being visited by aliens from a dying planet, who are abducting humans and harvesting their organs for their own bodies. The alien incursions may also be a prelude to a possible full-scale invasion. The series’ main cast of characters are the staff of a secret, high-technology international military agency called SHADO (an acronym for Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation) established by the governments of the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, France and Germany (it is unknown whether it is meant to be West Germany or East Germany) to defend Earth and humanity against the mysterious aliens and learn more about them, while at the same time keeping the threat of an alien invasion hidden from the public.

When a UFO penetrated SHADO’s defences and reached Earth’s atmosphere, the nearest Skydiver would be alerted. The Sky pilot would enter his craft by a hatch in the rear of the fighter and be fed by a hydraulic system into the cockpit. The submarine would tilt up to an angle of about 45 degrees and the fighter would blast off into the atmosphere to intercept the intruder.