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. Although it was never used as a fighter by the British Royal Air Force (RAF), it did achieve success with the RAF in its "Gnat T.1" trainer version, as well as wide recognition as the mount for the RAF Red Arrows aerobatic team.
The Gnat also achieved export success, particularly with India, which was the largest user of the Gnat and manufactured the aircraft under license. In fact, the Indians found the Gnat so capable that they designed and built their own improved version, the "Ajeet".
Details
The Gnat was the creation of W.E.W. "Teddy" Petter, a renowned British aircraft designer, who believed a small, simple fighter would offer the advantages of low purchase and operational costs. New lightweight turbojet engines were being developed at the time enabled the concept to take shape. One of the hallmarks of the Gnat's design was its compact size. However, to achieve such small size, its systems were quite closely-packed, making maintenance more difficult. Some of its systems were not noted for their reliability and the plane suffered from high operating costs. There were also issues that its cockpit was cramped and obstructed the instructor's forward visibility. Further, the limited weapons load and reduced fuel capacity - both designed to reduce overall kerb weight - meant that it could not operate for protracted periods. Despite the shortcomings, the Gnat and its predecessor the Folland Midge were praised by the RAF evaluation and the test pilots. The lower cost of the Gnat, its shorter body, as well as good press for the plane in airshows, were among the factors that prompted a spurt in its export sales.
Operational history
India
Serving mostly with Indian Air Force, the Gnat is claimed to have shot down seven Pakistani F-86 Sabres in the 1965 war [1][2][3]. Pakistan Air Force (PAF) however, disputes this claim and only accepts the downing of 3 F-86s at the hands of the Gnat in Air to air combat[4]. In return two Gnats were downed by PAF fighters. During the initial days of the 1965 War an IAF Gnat, piloted by Squadron Leader Brij Pal Singh Sikand, landed at an abandoned Pakistani airstrip at Pasrur and was captured by the PAF. Pakistanis initially claimed that the Gnat surrendered to two Pakistani F-104 Starfighters after straying from its main formation [1], while the Indians claimed the pilot lost his way and landed by mistake [5]. Later, a retired PAF historian, Air Cmde Kaiser Tufail, mentioned that the Gnat actually landed before the F-104 arrived on the scene, giving credibility to the Indian version[6]. This particular Gnat is displayed as a war trophy in the Pakistan Air Force Museum, Karachi.
The Gnats were used again by India in the Bangladesh Liberation War against Pakistan with good results.[2][3] The most notable battle was the Battle of Boyra which witnessed the first dogfighting over East Pakistan during the war. The IAF Gnats played a vital role in this battle and claim to have downed two PAF Sabres in minutes and badly damaged one. The Pakistan Air Force accepts the loss of 2 F-86s and claims that 1 Gnat was shot down in this particular battle. Incidentally, this Gnat Squadron that inflicted the damage was commanded by Brij Pal Singh Sikand who was taken as POW in the 65 war. Another notable dogfight involving a Gnat was the one over Srinagar airfield where a lone Indian pilot flying a Gnat held out against 6 Sabres, shooting down two in the process before being outnumbered. The Gnat pilot, Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, was posthumously given the Param Vir Chakra (India's highest gallantry award) becoming the only IAF personnel to be awarded thus. By the end of 1971, the Gnat had lived upto its nickname of Sabre Slayers in the Indian Air Force. The Gnat proved to be a frustrating opponent for the technically superior Sabres[4][5] - especially since the Sabre Mk VI, was widely regarded as the best "dog-fighter" of its era[6] - in both the wars and earned the nickname "Sabre killers" by the IAF[7][8]. Tactics called for Gnats taking on the Sabres in the vertical where they had a chance and came out trumps. Apart from air defence operations, the aircraft perfomed multiple roles in the Bangladesh Liberation War being utilized in Anti-Shipping Operations, Ground attack, Bomber/Transport escort and Close Air Support with "devastating effects" on the PAF.[2] According to RAF Museum reports, Gnats proved more than a match for their opponents in air combat.[3]
The IAF were impressed by its performance in the 1971 war, but the plane had problems like hydraulics and some of its control systems were unreliable. To address these issues, the IAF issued a requirement for an improved "Gnat II" in 1972, at first specifying that the new version was to be optimized as an interceptor, but then expanding the specification to include the ground-attack role. The HAL-built licensed version was called the Ajeet (Unconquerable). Many of the Indian gnats were built in Bangalore with over 175 made there along with about 40 purchased direct from Folland. Gnats served in India from 1958-1978, and several remain in use in private hands. Some IAF Gnats, one of which had participated in the 71 war in East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) were presented to the Bangladesh Air Force by India.[9]
Other countries
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. Finland too was another user, but had stopped using Gnats by 1974, and the UK by 1979.
The Gnat's experimental precursor was the Folland Midge, which used a less-powerful engine.
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 [10]
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
- Indian Air Force
- Finnish Air Force
- Royal Air Force
- SFR Yugoslav Air Force: Only two aircraft were exported to Yugoslavia, they were used for evaluation and tests.
Specifications (Folland Gnat)[7]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
Performance
Armament
- 2x 30mm ADEN cannons
- 2x 500 lb (227 kg) bombs or 18x 3 in (76 mm) rockets
Notes
- ^ A Gnat Surrenders - Pakdef.info
- ^ a b Squadron 22 "Swifts"
- ^ a b Folland Gnat F1 - RAF Museum
- ^ Victor Bingham (2002). Folland Gnat - Red Arrow and Sabre Slayer. ISBN 1-900511-78-9.
- ^ Book review of Three countries, One people By D S Jafa - Hosted on India Today, September 20, 1999
- ^ Canadair CL-13 SABRE - Royal Canadian Air Force
- ^ Green, W (2001). The great book of fighters. MBI Publishing. ISBN 0-7603-1194-3.
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References
The initial version of this article was based on a public domain article from Greg Goebel's Vectorsite.
External links
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