F.1 IE1083 at Karachi; PAF Museum	F.1 IE1205 at Nagpur; Kapil Chandni/Warbirds of India

During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, this Gnat of No.23 Squadron strayed into Pakistani airspace and was forced to land at Pasrur air base. It was recovered intact and in flying condition by the Pakistani Air Force and was thoroughly tested. The aircraft is now on display at the PAF Museum in Karachi. This Gnat was one of the original 23 sent by Folland to India. Information current as of 01/2003.

IE1205 is on display, rather uniquely, in the middle of a water fountain!. Though its position in that environment is not ideal for the airframe in terms of corrosion, it is very very effective to keep it out of reach of vandals! The serial of this aircraft is shared by another Gnat from the Air HQ in Delhi. Will the real IE1205 please stand up? Information current as of 2002.

F.1 IE1248 at Chennai, 2003; B Harry/Warbirds of India	F.1 at Ludhiana; Tribune India

Dumped in the same place as Sea Hawk IN252, this Gnat is in similarly neglected condition, with several panels missing, gutted cockpit and damaged control surfaces plus nose gear sinking into the ground. Information current as of 15/02/2003.

Ludhiana is the district from where Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, the only IAF awardee of the Param Vir Chakra (India's highest gallantry award) hailed from. In his honour, a Gnat is displayed alongside his statue at the District Collector's office in Ludhiana. This Gnat made the news when a tipsy bypasser used its empty engine nacelle as a sleeping shelter and got stuck when he woke up in the morning! Every year on December 14th a ceremony to mark the day of the dogfight for which Param won his medal is marked here. The aircraft and the memorial are given a regular cleaning by local Air Force units.

F.1 XK724 at Cosford, 8th May 2003; author	T.1 G-FRCE at Cranfield, 6th November 1999; author

XK724 was the first of six Gnat F.1s ordered by the Ministry of Supply for evaluation purposes and initially earmarked for armaments trials but went on to assist in the development of the Finnish and Indian F.1 variants before being retired to instructional use at RAF Henlow in 1961. Eventually it was disposed of to the RAF Museum and is now on display at Cosford, in excellent condition. Information current as of 08/05/2003.

XS104 spent some time on the airshow circuit after retirement but her registration was cancelled on 25th February 2000 after the owning company was wound up the month before. Jason Walker has since acquired the aircraft, which is being restored by Kennet Aviation at North Weald - hopefully to return to the air in the future, though I hear she's not in the best of condition having been stored in the open for many years at Cranfield. Information current as of 02/2003.

T.1 N936FC at Calverton, 20th September 2003; Dennis Wong	T.1 XM693 at Hamble, 4th December 2002; Tony Inkster

Sold to the USA in 1997, this Gnat was restored to airworthiness by John Mulvey in Colorado and flew on 3rd June 1999. She was delivered to her new owner Frank Chiodo in October 1999 - Frank's Italian ancestry explains the unusual Italian colour scheme! It can now be seen at airshows in the USA and is pictured here taking off at the New York Airshow (at the snappily-named Calverton Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Airport) in September 2003.

The short nose on XM693 is explained by it being one of the T.1 development aircraft. Never in RAF service, 693 spent most of its life with the Ministry of Aviation undergoing trials and was finally retired to instructional use (as 7891M) at RAF Bicester in 1965. British Aerospace at Hamble acquired the airframe and it has been on display at Hamble to mark Folland's most famous product in a very visual way, though wearing Red Arrows colours she never wore in service. The plaque below her reads 'GNAT T.MK.1 manufactured by FOLLAND AIRCRAFT on this site 1960'. Information current as of 02/2003.

T.1 XM694 at Pima, 23rd February 2004; Tom McGhee	T.1 XM697 at Hurn, summer 2002; Tony Inkster

XM694 was the third development aircraft for the T.1 and as you can see retains the short nose without landing light. After her career in the development phase, XM694 was used for chase duties and then spent a year flying out of RAE Bedford before retiring to instructional use with the apprentices there. Disposed of as a possible flyer, she has been ground-bound for many years now at Pima's Air Museum. As for the colour scheme... well... do I really need to say anything?! Better this than no paint at all and stored in a pile of bits! Information current as of 23/02/2004.

XM697 was a pre-production T.1, spending most of its active career with the Ministry of Aviation (A&AEE and HSA) for trials work. Her last active years were spent as a chase aircraft with Hawkers at Dunsfold and she was retired in 1968. Woking ATC squadron looked after her for some years before she turned up at the Bournemouth Aviation Museum. Acquired by John Hallett, she was moved to Exeter by road in October 2002. Information current as of 10/2002.