| Gnat | |
|---|---|
| Gnat T.1 during a display at Kemble Air Day in 2008 | |
| Role | Fighter and trainer |
| Manufacturer | Folland Aircraft |
| Designer | W.E.W. Petter |
| First flight | 18 July 1955 |
| Introduction | 1959, RAF |
| Retired | 1979, UK |
| Primary users | Royal Air Force Indian Air Force Finnish Air Force |
| Number built | 449 (including HAL Ajeet) |
| Developed from | Folland Midge |
| Variants | HAL Ajeet |
The Folland Gnat was a small, swept-wing British subsonic jet trainer and light fighter aircraft developed by Folland Aircraft for the Royal Air Force, and flown extensively by the Indian Air Force.
The Gnat was designed by W.E.W. Petter as a development of the private venture Folland Midge and first flew in 1955. Its design allowed its construction without specialised tools by countries not highly industrialised.[1][2] Although never used as a fighter by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the Gnat T.1 trainer variant was widely used. The Gnat became well known as the aircraft of the RAF's Red Arrows aerobatic team.
The Gnat was exported to Finland, Yugoslavia and India, The Indian Air Force became the largest operator and eventually manufactured the aircraft under licence. India then developed the HAL Ajeet, a modified and improved variant.
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The Gnat was the creation of W.E.W. "Teddy" Petter, a British aircraft designer formerly of Westland Aircraft and English Electric. Designed to meet the 1952 Operational Requirement OR.303 calling for a lightweight fighter, Petter believed that a small, simple fighter would offer the advantages of low purchase and operational costs. New lightweight turbojet engines that were being developed enabled the concept to take shape.[1] Petter's first design resulted in the private venture Folland Midge which had a short lifespan, but served as a proof-of-concept design. It failed to interest the RAF as a combat aircraft, but they encouraged the development of a similar aircraft for training purposes.[3]
The Midge first flew on 11 August 1954 but was destroyed in a crash on 20 September 1955. The Gnat, being developed in parallel with the Midge, was an improved version of the original fighter design, differentiated by larger air intakes for the Bristol Orpheus engine (the Midge had a Armstrong Siddeley Viper engine), a slightly larger wing, and provision for a 30 mm ADEN cannon in each intake lip.[4][3]
The first prototype Gnat was built as a private venture project by Folland but subsequently six further aircraft were ordered by the British Ministry of Supply for evaluation.[3] The Folland prototype, serial number G-39-2, first flew on 18 July 1955 from Boscombe Down.
Although the evaluation by the British did not end up in an order for the lightweight fighter orders were placed by Finland, Yugoslavia and a large order from India which included licence production by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Although the Gnat's development was attributed as motivating the Mutual Weapons Development Team to issue a NATO requirement for a low level light fighter, the Gnat was not evaluated in the competition, won by the Fiat G.91.[5] The Gnat was evaluated in 1958 by the Royal Air Force as a de Havilland Venom replacement, as well as other light fighters such as the BAC Jet Provost,[6] the Hawker Hunter was the eventual winner of the fly-off competition.
Although RAF interest waned in its possible use as a fighter, the Gnat was modified to meet the 1957 Trainer Specification T.185D that called for an advanced two-seat trainer that could transition pilots between the current DH Vampire T 11 and operational fighters such as the English Electric Lightning.[3] Folland proposed the two-seat Fo. 144 Gnat Trainer, it had a new wing with additional fuel capacity, this allowed more room in the fuselage for additional equipment. A more powerful variant of the Orpheus engine was used, the front fuselage length was increased and had larger tail surfaces. The inboard ailerons of the fighter variant were changed to outbound ailerons and conventional flaps.
An initial contract for 14 pre-production Gnat trainers was issued in 7 January 1958.[7] The prototype Gnat Trainer first flew on 31 August 1959 from Chilbolton airfield,[8] The Ministry did not at first place a production order as they were concerned about the size and ability of the company to take on a large order. Following the take over of Folland by Hawker Siddeley Aviation (becoming the Hamble division) further orders for 30, 20 and 41 trainers were placed between February 1960 and March 1962 with the designation Gnat T Mk 1.[9]
The Finnish Air Force received the first of its 13 Gnats on 30 July 1958. It was soon found to be a problematic aircraft in service and required a lot of ground maintenance. Finland had considered licence manufacturing the aircraft but eventually decided not to. On 31 July 1958, the Finnish Air Force Major Lauri Pekuri broke the sound barrier for the first time in Finland at Lake Luonetjärvi with a Folland Gnat.[10]
All Gnats were grounded on 26 August 1958 for six months after the destruction of GN-102 due to a technical error, and the aircraft soon became the subject of severe criticism. Three other aircraft were also destroyed in other accidents. The Gnats were removed from active service in 1972 when the Häme Wing moved to Rovaniemi, and when the new Saab 35 Drakens were taken into use.[3]
The first 13 aircraft for the Indian Air Force were assembled at Hamble, they were followed by partly completed aircraft and then sub-assemblies as Hindustan Aircraft slowly took over at first assembly then production of the aircraft.
The first flight of an Indian Air Force Gnat was in the United Kingdom on the 11 January 1958, it was delivered to India in the hold of a C-119 and accepted by the Air Force on the 30 January 1958. The first Gnat squadron was No. 23 (Cheetah) Squadron which converted from Vampire FB.52 on 18 March 1960 using six Folland-built Gnats. The first aircraft built from Indian-built parts first flew in May 1962. The last Indian-built Gnat F.1 was delivered on 31 January 1974.
Serving primarily with the Indian Air Force, the Gnat is credited by many independent and Indian sources to have shot down seven Pakistani Canadair Sabres[11] in the 1965 war.[12][13] The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) claims only three Gnat victories over F-86s in air to air combat,[14] while two Gnats were downed by PAF fighters. During the initial phase 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. Two Lockheed F-104 Starfighters forced the Gnat down.[15][16][17] This Gnat is displayed as a war trophy in the Pakistan Air Force Museum, Karachi.
After the ceasefire, one Pakistani Cessna O-1 was shot down on 16 December 1965 by a Gnat.[18]
The Gnats were used again by India in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 against Pakistan.[19][20] The most notable action was the Battle of Boyra where the first dogfights over East Pakistan (Bangladesh) took place. The IAF Gnats downed two PAF Canadair Sabres in minutes and badly damaged one. The Pakistan Air Force claims that one Gnat was shot down, which was proved incorrect. Another notable dogfight involving a Gnat was over Srinagar airfield where a lone Indian pilot held out against six Sabres,[21] scoring hits on two of the Sabres in the process,[22][23] before being overwhelmed. Gnat pilot Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon was posthumously honoured with Param Vir Chakra (India's highest gallantry award), becoming the only member of the IAF to be given the award.
By the end of 1971, the Gnat proved to be a frustrating opponent for the larger and heavier Sabre. The Gnat was referred to as "Sabre Slayers" by the Indian Air Force since most of its combat "kills" during the two wars were against Sabres.[24][25] The Canadair Sabre Mk 6 was widely regarded as the best dogfighter of its era.[26] Tactics called for Gnats taking on the Sabres in the vertical arena, where the Sabres were at a disadvantage. Moreover, because the Gnat was lightweight and compact in shape, it was hard to see, especially at the low levels where most of the dogfights took place.[13] Apart from air defence operations, the aircraft performed multiple roles in the Bangladesh Liberation War, being used in anti-shipping operations, ground attack, bomber/transport escort and close air support with devastating effects on the PAF.[19][20] The success of the indigenously produced Gnats against the more sophisticated Pakistani-flown aircraft was viewed as a significant achievement.[27]
The IAF were impressed by the Gnat's performance in the two wars, but the aircraft had problems including hydraulics and unreliable control systems. 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. Over 175 of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-built licenced version, the Ajeet ("Unconquerable"), were produced in Bangalore, while about 40 were purchased directly 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 1971 war in East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh), were presented to the Bangladesh Air Force.[28]
The first production Gnat T.1s for the Royal Air Force were delivered in February 1962 to the Central Flying School at RAF Little Rissington. The major operator of the type was 4 Flying Training School at RAF Valley, the first aircraft being delivered in November 1962. In 1964 4 FTS formed the Yellowjacks aerobatic team with all-yellow painted Gnats. The team reformed in 1965 as part of the Central Flying School as the Red Arrows which operated the Gnat until 1979 as the RAF aerobatic demonstration team.[3] On 14 May 1965, the last Royal Air Force Gnat T.1 to be built was delivered to the Red Arrows.
Once a pilot had graduated from basic training on the BAC Jet Provost and gained their wings they were selected for one of three streams, fast jet, multi-engined or helicopters. Those selected for fast jets were posted to RAF Valley for advanced training on the Gnat T.1, typically 70 hours of flying. Student would then move on to operational training using the Hawker Hunter then a posting to an operational conversion unit for the type of aircraft to be flown.
Following the introduction of the Hawker Siddeley Hawk into the training role as a replacement the Gnats were withdrawn from service.[3] The largest operator 4 FTS retired its last Gnat in November 1978. Most of the retired Gnats were delivered to No. 1 School of Technical Training at RAF Halton and other training establishments to be used as ground training airframes. When the RAF had no need for the Gnats as training airframes they were sold off and many were bought by private operators.
Yugoslavia ordered two Gnat F.1s for evaluation, the first aircraft flew on 7 June 1958 and both were delivered to Yugoslavia by rail. The aircraft were flown by the flight test centre but no further aircraft were ordered and one aircraft was destroyed in a crash in October 1958 while the other is preserved and on display in Serbia.
A number of Gnats survive including a number of airworthy examples (particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom) and others on public display:
Data from The Great Book of Fighters[33]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
The Gnat portrayed the fictional carrier-based fighters flown by U.S. Navy pilots in the 1991 comedy Hot Shots!. [34]
The initial version of this article was based on a public domain article from Greg Goebel's Vectorsite.
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Portal:British aircraft since World War II
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