Folland Fo-144 Gnat
Designed by W.E.W. Petter on the belief that a small, simple jet fighter would be cheaper and quicker to deploy than contemporary heavyweights, the Folland Gnat first flew in 1955 and was built to be maintained largely without specialised tooling. The single-seat fighter saw combat with the Indian Air Force in the 1965 war with Pakistan, but it was the Gnat T.1 two-seat trainer, ordered from 1958, that gave the type its lasting fame as the RAF's advanced jet trainer and, from 1965, as the mount of the Red Arrows aerobatic team.
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Did you know?
Nicknamed the 'Sabre Slayer' in Indian service, the diminutive Gnat downed larger F-86 Sabres in the 1965 war with Pakistan.
Specifications
| Length | 9.7 m (32 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 6.8 m (22 ft) |
| Height | 2.8 m (9 ft) |
| Persons on board | 1 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 4.1 t |
| Range | 500 NM (926 km) |
| Maximum speed | 636 kt (1,178 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 48,000 ft (14,630 m) |
| Rate of climb | 20,000 ft/min (101.6 m/s) |
| Take-off distance | 667 m (2,188 ft) |
| Fuel capacity | 800 l |
| Engines | 1x Bristol Siddeley Orpheus |
| Units built | 156 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Folland Fo-144 Gnat starts as a Very rare catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you.
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