Folland Gnat- Petter’s lightweight fighter
During the flight test phase some teething troubles had to be solved. During this period the Gnat prototype crashed when it lost on 31 July 1956 both parts of its horizontal tail because of flutter. Folland’s test pilot Ted Tennant successfully managed to bail-out using the Gnat’s light-weight ejector seat. When all problems were finally solved the R.A.F. ordered a small batch of six Gnats (with serial nos XK724, 739, 740, 741, 767 and 768) for operational evaluation. However, no further orders followed and the Gnat fighter was never used by the R.A.F. Also attempts to present it as a NATO lightweight fighter/fighter-bomber failed since Fiat’s G-91 was selected for this purpose (although at the end only Italy, Germany and Portugal used them!). Still, Folland had some success with the Gnat when Finland ordered a small batch of 12 machines. They were used by the Finnish air force as a fighter while some of them were also converted for reconnaissance work with nose-mounted cameras.
Also the Yugoslavian air force ordered the Gnat, though this was limited to two machines only. Folland had more success in India where it was later licence-manufactured. A more developed version with more internal fuel went into production in India as the Ajeet. The Gnat gained some success during the India-Pakistan war where it showed to be more than a match for Pakistan air force F-86 Sabres. In fact, the Ajeet got a reputation as a ‘Sabre-slayer’!
Although the Gnat was not used by the RAF as a fighter, an improved two-seat version went into production as an advanced trainer. In total more than a hundred machines were supplied. The RAF Gnat trainer soon became famous when the R.A.F. aerobatic display team ‘Yellow Jackets’ used it for their shows. Later, the name of this team was changed into the more known ‘Red Arrows’. The Gnats were re-painted in a new bright-red colour scheme, that is still in use today on the BAe Hawks!
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