Thundercloud

Thundercloud was a light-hearted Second World War comedy series produced by Yorkshire Television in 1979. Running for 13 episodes, the series centred on the activities of a supposedly secret Royal Naval station (HMS Thundercloud) located in a secluded Yorkshire coastal town. In fact, it was so secret that the Admiralty knew remarkably little about the operation, but because it carried the prefix “HMS,” officials assumed it was an active naval vessel patrolling the North Sea and engaging German U-boats.

As a result, the station continually received valuable military equipment and supplies which Doctor Smith (Frank Gatliff) and Chief Petty Officer Hawkins (James Cosmo) happily diverted onto the black market. Meanwhile, Commander Flint (Derek Waring) spent much of his time tending the garden rather than contributing to the war effort. Only Lieutenant Commander Morgan (John Fraser) attempted to maintain naval discipline, although his efforts were frequently distracted by his interest in Bella Harrington (Sarah Douglas), the attractive but naïve daughter of the local vicar.

Unlike many sitcoms of the era, the series was filmed without a studio audience or canned laughter track, giving it a more natural style of presentation. Filmed on location at HMS Forest Moor near Menwith Hill, with a number of Defence Communications Network personnel appearing as extras, interior scenes were shot on Kirkstall Road in Leeds.

Despite its unusual premise, Thundercloud had a limited television run. It was not fully networked across all ITV regions and, in London, only the first 11 episodes were shown due to a long ITV technicians’ strike beginning in August 1979. The series was never repeated and has never been officially released on any media, leaving it one of the more obscure and little-seen British television comedies of the period.

 The programme was devised, co-written and executive produced by Ian Mackintosh, a former Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy. Mackintosh had previously created the BBC documentary series Warship and later the espionage drama The Sandbaggers.

At the time he began writing for television, Mackintosh was still employed by the British military, meaning his scripts required official government approval before production. One script for The Sandbaggers was reportedly blocked because it was considered to breach the Official Secrets Act. In July 1979, shortly after Thundercloud had been transmitted, Mackintosh disappeared while flying over the Gulf of Alaska in a light aircraft with his girlfriend Susan Insole and pilot, British Airways captain Graham Barber. Although a distress signal was received by the United States Coast Guard, no trace of the plane or its passengers was ever found.