Folland Gnat
The
Folland Gnat was an exceptionally small
swept-wing subsonic jet trainer and light fighter aircraft designed by
W. E. W. Petter that first flew in
1955. Its design was such that it could be built without specialised tools, hence by countries that were not necessarily in the first rank of industrialisation. However, to achieve such small size, its systems were quite closely-packed, making maintenance more difficult.
Serving mostly with
India as the
Gnat Mk. II, the Gnat is credited with shooting down seven
Pakistani
F-86s in the
1965 war [
1] [
2] and came out with the lowest
attrition rate. The Gnats were used again in the
Bangladesh Liberation War against
Pakistan Air Force downing several aircraft. The most notable battle was the
Battle of Boyra which witnessed the first
dogfighting over
East Pakistan during the war. The
IAF Gnats downed two
PAF Sabres in minutes and badly damaged one. By the end of 1971, the
No.22 Squadron, had achieved the fame as
Sabre Slayers.
IAF operated a
HAL-built licensed version called the
Ajeet. The Gnat proved to be a frustrating opponent for the technically superior Sabres in both the wars and earned the nicknames "Sabre killers"[
3][
4]. Tactics called for Gnats taking on the Sabres in the vertical where they had a chance and came out trumps.
In Britain it served as the
Folland Fo.144 Gnat Trainer (later renamed the
Gnat T.Mk 1), most notably as the demonstration aircraft of the
RAF's
Red Arrows aerobatic team. A few served with
Finland.
Many of the Indian aircraft were built in
Bangalore with over 175 made there along with about 40 purchased direct from Folland. Finland had stopped using Gnats by
1974, and the UK by
1979. Gnats served in India from
1958-
1978, and several remain in use in private hands.
The Gnat's experimental precursor was the
Folland Midge, which used a less-powerful engine. In India, the aircraft was called the
Ajeet, or "Unconquerable". The successor of the Gnat was a modification for Indian conditions, called the Ajeet Mark 2.
When the RAF replaced and sold-off its Gnat T.Mk 1 trainers many were bought by private collectors and subsequently appeared (along with some single-seat Gnats) in the
Charlie Sheen movie Hot Shots.
One of the few remaining Gnats in the UK is currently being restored to flight status at
Bournemouth Airport, in Southern England. Once restored, XR537 (or G-NATY as she is registered on the civilian register) will be the only genuine former
Red Arrows Gnat on the European display circuit. She can be viewed at Bournemouth Aviation Museum.Like many ex-military jet aircraft, there is one (G-FRCE) based at North Weald Airfield in Essex [
5]
Variants
*
Fo.141 Gnat : Single seat lightweight fighter aircraft.
**
Gnat F.Mk 1 : Single-seat lightweight fighter version for Finland.
*
Fo. 144 Gnat trainer : Two-seat advanced trainer aircraft.
**
Gnat T.Mk 1 : Two-seat advanced trainer version for the
RAF.
Operators
*
Finland,
India,
United Kingdom,
Yugoslavia (Two aircraft only for tests).
