SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron (1993)

[Kooshmeister]

Was uncertain if this show deserved its own page. Nevertheless, I got the DVD-R of it from the Warner Archive and decided I'd screencap the hell out of its aircraft, beginning with season one:

The Turbokat

Appearing in all episodes, this is the fighter craft of the SWAT Kats, T-Bone and Razor. Ostensibly it is modeled on an F-14 Tomcat although it is implied that the SWAT Kats built it from scratch. It gets destroyed more than once, however, and always replaced with a (virtually) identical Turbokat. It functions like a regular jet essentially although it's been given a variety of upgrades and add-ons to make it "cooler" or perform better, including the fact it can launch a two-seater motorcycle called the Cyclotron from the bomb bay (how they get onto it from inside the cockpit is never delved into), which is one of the series' more ridiculous elements. In a similar vein, its armaments fall into two categories, one being ordinary missiles and the other being missiles that transform midflight into Rube Goldberg-esque contraptions when fired. Personally I find the Turbokat highly impractical. It's frequently put into situations where ordinarily a jet wouldn't be called for, especially here in the first season. It's used a lot in the city itself which means in an urban environment surrounded by huge buildings that in real life would severely hamper a jet's ability to perform. The writers attempt to cover up this up by underselling helicopters at every turn despite them being more ideal for the type of stuff the Turbokat does.







Enforcer helicopter

The primary aircraft of the Enforcers, the police-like paramilitary force that protects the city. They seem to possess NOTAR as they lack tail rotors. They're frequently destroyed by villains and looked down upon, despite rotary-wing aircraft being more ideal for reconnaissance in an urban environment than a jet, no matter what the show says. The Enforcers' leader Commander Feral is known for uttering his trademark line "Bring me chopper backup!"






Morbulus' jet

Fighter flown by the villain named Morbulus at the beginning of The Giant Bacteria. It splashes down into the ocean after the SWAT Kats use a "Cookie Cutter Missile" to literally pull the pilot out of the cockpit, still in his seat. Morbulus himself is noteworthy for (literally!) having eyes in the back of his head.

[Kooshmeister]

The Doomsday Express

Large airplane used by Dark Kat in the episode The Wrath of Dark Kat, equipped with deadly heat-beams. It's an unusual-looking vehicle, shaped much like a fighter but far too large. "Doomsday Express" may not be its actual name, however Dark Kat tells a captured Feral, "Welcome aboard the Doomsday Express, Commander," so for lack of anything better to call it, its more or less official name is Doomsday Express (which is fitting since Dark Kat just loves the word "doomsday"). It crash after getting its back end completely blown off.





Dark Kat's jet

Seen only briefly in a flashback in The Wrath of Dark Kat. Similar to the Doomsday Express in overall appearance. Dark Kat uses it to try and destroy Enforcer Headquarters, but he is stopped by then-Enforcers Chance and Jake who cripple the jet's weapon system.



Kat's Eye News helicopter

News helicopter used by reporter Ann Gora and her cameraman Jonny. Appears in several episodes and frequently crashes, although Ann, Jonny and pilot Al always manage to survive.






The Blue Manx

In the episode The Ghost Pilot, the Enforcers have an experimental stealth fighter, named the Blue Manx, after Mayor Manx's great grandfather who flew as a pilot in "Mega War II" (and who is oddly enough named for the German award the Blue Max). It's a very un-aerodynamic-looking thing and foreshadows the later design aesthetic the show would use in the second season. It gets stolen by the resurrected ghost of the Red Lynx and shot down over the bay by the Mayor himself.





More to come!

[Kooshmeister]

The Blue Manx's biplane

Seen briefly in a black and white documentary about "Mega War II" on a video cassette Chance Furlong watches in The Ghost Pilot, flown by Mayor Manx's great-grandfather. Note the golf club insignia as a nod to the Manx family's aptitude for playing golf (badly).



The Red Lynx's biplane

Seen in the same documentary as the Blue Manx's plane, this is the plane belonging to the Teutonic (but never outright stated to be German) Red Lynx, "the most evil pilot who ever lived." He is obviously analogous to the Red Baron, however, despite its name, Mega War II appears to be analogous to World War I. After being shot down by the Blue Manx, it sinks into the ocean until it's found later and put on display in the museum. However the Red Lynx's skeletal ghost comes back from beyond the grave and steals it. It doesn't last long against the Turbokat, and ends up back in the ocean (where all shot down aircraft in the show seem to wind up), forcing the Red Lynx to find a replacement aircraft.







Biplane

This plane is the other one prominently seen in the documentary Chance watches. Its pilot isn't identified. He has a dogfight with the Red Lynx, who shoots him down.




Fighter

A couple of these are seen in the episode The Ci-Kat-A, in a movie Chance and Jake see at the theater called Hard Shell. One crashes after Hard Shell (a giant alien beetle) bites off one of its wings.



And that about does it for season one. There are Enforcer jets, but I couldn't get any satisfactory standalone screenshots of them. However they appear prominently in a couple of season two episodes so I'll try and snag 'em, then.

[Bthebest]

Thanks for posting it here before going straight into IMPDb.

In my opinion, I wouldn't suggest putting it on the site as the aircraft don't represent, or even try to represent any real aircraft so it would be a bit futile.

Other opinions welcome though.

[Kooshmeister]

Still fun, though. Whatever happens I'm still screencapping season two and putting them here. Even if they aren't representing anything real, the series is still very aircraft-heavy and features some fun designs.

[tleeg]

Still fun, though. Whatever happens I'm still screencapping season two and putting them here. Even if they aren't representing anything real, the series is still very aircraft-heavy and features some fun designs.

You are right Koosh, it is still fun and I would be interested in seeing Season Two. But I also have the same feelings as Tim. Let's put them up here for now if that's cool.

[Kooshmeister]

Finishing up season one, here are some random background planes in the museum's hangar in The Ghost Pilot.




Now on with season two!

Enforcer jet

While the Enforcers mostly rely on their bulky-looking helicopters, they occasionally use these single-engine fighters. They perform only slightly better than the copters. These appeared in a couple of season one episodes - their debut was in fact episode three, The Wrath of Dark Kat but I was unable to get any decent screenshots of them due to both choppy animation and fast cutting. Apart from the flashback in that episode, their primary appearances are here in season two's When Strikes Mutilor and The Dark Side of the SWAT Kats.






Metallitack unit

These are seen in the episode A Bright and Shiny Future, in an alternate future where the Metallikats (robotic gangsters) rule Megakat City. They're two-legged walking war machines that convert into VTOL-capable aircraft and are controlled by a central computer without any pilots inside. After the SWAT Kats go back in time, the future they went to is erased from existence, including these things.





Robot helicopter

Several of these are also employed by the Metallikats in the alternate timeline in A Bright and Shiny Future. Like the Metallitack units, they're flown by computer, however they have an interior with seats for passengers. The Metallikats use one as an escape vehicle but the SWAT Kats bring it down by tying up its rotors with a Bola Missile. Like the Metallikats' other robot aircraft, these end up never existing after the SWAT Kats change the past.




More to come.

[Kooshmeister]

Mothership

The title villain's spaceship in When Strikes Mutilor. It's a giant water freighter which he stole from a peaceful race of aliens, using its large suction devices to steal all of the cat-world's water. It's returned to the good aliens after Mutilor is killed. Not really an aircraft, persay, but I figured spaceships were fair game (there's also a rocket in an earlier season one episode, The Ci-Kat-A, but I decided that didn't count).





Mutilor's fighters

Small one-man (one-alien?) fighter ships used in battle by Mutilor's henchmen. They dominate the Enforcers, but almost all of them get destroyed when they go up against the Turbokat.





Mutilor's escape ship

Mutilor tries to get away from the mothership in this, after the SWAT Kats defeat him. It gets destroyed after Razor uses a Buzz Saw Missile to jam the main laser gun, so that when Mutilor tries to fire it explodes. And yes, the Turbokat gains the ability to fly in space using extra engines, an airtight cockpit, and some nonsense pseudoscience they refer to as "speed of heat."




Mayor Manx's helicopter

This helicopter is used by Mayor Manx and Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs to do a flyover of the drained ocean in When Strikes Mutilor.



More to come.

[Kooshmeister]

Black Widow

Spider-like vehicle used by Dark Kat in Razor's Edge. It's capable of flight so sort of counts as an aircraft, however only in its initial configuration. Later in the episode after Dark Kat upgrades it and it becomes larger it becomes purely a ground-based vehicle.





Commercial airliner

In Cry Turmoil, the title villain uses this plane to test the effects of her "Vertigo Ray," a weapon that makes pilots dizzy and crash. The SWAT Kats save it from crashing using a big magnet.





Turmoil's airship

A gigantic flying aircraft carrier that houses the Vertigo Ray. T-Bone, after pretending to join Turmoil's side, plants an explosive device underneath a console. After he and Razor escape, T-Bone uses a remote detonator to set the device off, and the airship blows up and crashes into the sea (again with them landing in the ocean!).





Turmoil's fighters

Fighter jets flown against the SWAT Kats by Turmoil's all-female squadron. Despite Turmoil's boasting of their prowess, they perform poorly against the Turbokat and most of them get destroyed.






Turmoil's escape ship

After her airship is destroyed, Turmoil (who escaped) tries to get away aboard this small craft. It's only seen clearly when they stop her, by grabbing it with the same big magnet they rescued the airliner with.



Still more to come.

[Kooshmeister]

Chopshop's helicopter

A jet-propelled helicopter seen used by a minor villain named Chopshop at the beginning of SWAT Kats Unplugged. After a brief chase, he's brought down when the SWAT Kats snag the tail of the copter and set it down on the street.





Hard Drive's jet

Hard Drive, a villain who can turn into electricity, uses this jet in an attempt to rob a train in SWAT Kats Unplugged. It has folding wings, which allow it to flow in-between tight spaces. It crashes after Razor dumps a huge can of black paint over the cockpit, blinding Hard Drive.






The "Dark" Turbokat

In The Dark Side of the SWAT Kats, the SWAT Kats get knocked into an alternate dimension where they're evil instead of good. The evil versions of them (called the Dark SWAT Kats by fans but never referred to as such in dialogue) fly an evil version of the Turbokat which is exactly the same as the "real" one except for a large green skull adorning the nosecone. The good SWAT Kats use their cement launcher to gum up their rivals' bomb bay doors, preventing them from dropping the already-armed bomb they'd planned to destroy the city with. Consequently, it goes off while still attached, destroying both the evil SWAT Kats and their jet.





Good Kat blimp

Seen briefly in The Dark Side of the SWAT Kats.



And that about does it for season two, which was the series' final season. It was canceled three episodes short unfortunately. The show played fast and loose with the appearance of its aircraft, especially in the second season, but a few, such as the Enforcer jets, Morbulus' fighter in The Giant Bacteria and the Turbokat itself (both the good and evil ones!) at least have some design influences in common with real-world aircraft. Definitely not enough to warrant SWAT Kats getting its own page just yet (if ever) but nonetheless hear is every flying vehicle in the show for all to see (unless I missed any)!