The Folland Gnat fighter

About the Folland Gnat

Folland's Light fighter

Folland Gnat Was Introduced to the Press at the
RAF Valley Station -Photographic Print
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The Folland Gnat was created in the fifties to fulfil a post-war need for a low tech, easiy constructed fighter for less industrialised nations. The first of a class of aircraft its designer called "light fighters" the idea was to strip the aircraft down to the basics, with no space for extras and reduced fuel. This made it cheap to produce, but limited it to day operations and restricted its range.

To save space many systems doubled up - the undercarriage was linked to airbrakes for example. This, along with its cramped size, made maintenance difficult and gave it reliability issues. However, its high performance, excellent manoverability and low production cost made it a favourite both with pilots and many airforces around the world.

(There were also some interesting rumours about the Gnat - one stated that due to small size there were plans to sling three Gnats against the underside of a Vulcan and then release them in combat zones to resolve their fuel issues. One wonders how the Gnat pilots were supposed to get home...)