Folland Gnat 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 . 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 . Design and development . Origins . 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 . Petter ' s first design resulted in the Folland Midge private venture , which however had only 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 . 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 an Armstrong Siddeley Viper engine ) , a slightly larger wing , and provision for a 30 mm ADEN cannon in each intake lip . 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 . The Folland prototype , serial number " G - 39 - 2 " , first flew on 18 July 1955 from Boscombe Down . Although the evaluation by the British brought no orders for the lightweight fighter , orders were placed by Finland , Yugoslavia and a large order from India which included licence for production by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited . Although the Gnat ' s development is considered a factor which motivated the Mutual Weapons Development Team to issue a NATO requirement for a low level light fighter , the Gnat itself was not evaluated in the competition , which was won by the Fiat G . 91 . However , the Gnat was evaluated in 1958 by the Royal Air Force as a replacement for the de Havilland Venom , as well as other light fighters such as the BAC Jet Provost , the Hawker Hunter was the eventual winner of the fly - off competition . Gnat Trainer . Although RAF interest in the possibilities for the Gnat ' s use as a fighter waned , the aircraft 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 . Folland proposed the two - seat Fo . 144 Gnat Trainer . It had a new wing with additional fuel capacity , which in turn allowed more room in the fuselage for additional equipment . A more powerful variant of the Orpheus engine was used , the length of the forward end of the fuselage was increased , and the tail surfaces were enlarged . 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 . The prototype Gnat Trainer first flew on 31 August 1959 from Chilbolton airfield , 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 " . Operational history . Finland . 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 . In early 1957 a licence agreement was reached to allow Valmet to build the Gnat at Tampere in Finland , although in the end none were built . 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 . 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 Draken s were taken into use . India . 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 first assembly , and then production of the aircraft . The first flight of an Indian Air Force Gnat was in the United Kingdom on 11 January 1958 , it was delivered to India in the hold of a C - 119 , and accepted by the Air Force on 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 Sabre s in the 1965 war . The Pakistan Air Force ( PAF ) claims only three Gnat victories over F - 86s in air to air combat , 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 Starfighter s forced the Gnat down . 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 . The Gnats were used again by India in the Indo - Pakistani War of 1971 against Pakistan . The most notable action was the Battle of Boyra where the first dogfight s over East Pakistan ( Bangladesh ) took place . The IAF Gnats downed two PAF Canadair Sabre s 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 , scoring hits on two of the Sabres in the process , before being shot down . 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 , heavier and older Sabre . The Gnat was referred to as a " Sabre Slayer " by the Indian Air Force since most of its combat " kills " during the two wars were against Sabres . The Canadair Sabre Mk 6 was widely regarded as the best dogfighter of its era . 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 . 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 . The success of the indigenously produced Gnats against the more sophisticated Pakistani - flown aircraft was viewed as a significant achievement . 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 . United Kingdom . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . Survivors . Several Gnats survive including some airworthy examples ( particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom ) and others on public display : Notable appearances in media . The Gnat portrayed the fictional carrier - based " Oscar EW - 5894 Fallus Tactical Fighter Bomber " flown by U . S . Navy pilots in the 1991 comedy " Hot Shots ! " .