Folland Gnat: Red Arrow and Cold War Fighter presents an illustrated and factual record of the challenges faced by William Petter, chief designer at Folland Aircraft, in gaining recognition for his cheap, lightweight fighter concept. He saw it as a viable alternative to other front-line interceptors, such as the Hunter and Swift, under development in the early 1950s. Petter called his fighter the Gnat, although 'pocket rocket' became a popular alternative. Unperturbed at having failed to attract interest from the RAF or Air Ministry, Petter decided to proceed with a privately-funded prototype powered by an Armstrong-Siddeley Viper engine to prove his design's viability. Named Midge, the aircraft made its maiden flight at Boscombe Down in August 1954 and performed well. In July of the following year, the prototype Gnat made its maiden flight powered by a more powerful Bristol Orpheus engine. The Ministry of Supply finally began to offer support, placing an order for six development Gnats for trials work, but no production orders were forthcoming. Conversely, the Indian Government was very impressed, placing orders for a batch of Gnat fighters, followed by licenced-manufacture of several hundred examples in India. The Gnat went on to serve the country well in two wars with neighbouring Pakistan. Recalled in detail are the shooting-down of a number of Pakistani F-86 Sabres by the Gnat leading to the legendary sobriquet, 'Sabre Slayer'. At the other end of the spectrum, Finland decided to expand its air force with the purchase of a squadron of Gnat fighters. Anticipating a requirement for a Vampire T.11 replacement, Petter wasted no time in preparing designs for a tandem-seat trainer based on the Gnat fighter, his efforts being rewarded with orders for a production variant for the RAF. There are also detailed accounts of the aircraft's impressive period displaying with the famous Yellowjacks and Red Arrows aerobatic teams. AUTHOR: Born in Farnborough, Kent, in 1942, RAY DEACON grew up in South-East London and went on to study at William Penn Technical School before joining the Royal Air Force. On passing out in December 1959, he was posted to the Central Flying School (CFS), Little Rissington where he worked on the Vampire T.11 line. Much to Ray's delight, the squadron was also responsible for handling the CFS Hunters whenever they paid visits from their base at RAF Kemble. The opportunity to work on the 'queen of the skies' kindled a passion that has remained with Ray ever since. His career in the RAF included two years-service in Aden, working on a front-line operational squadron equipped with ground attack and fighter reconnaissance versions of the Hunter. Returning to Little Rissington, he worked on the Varsity squadron for a while, before moving on to the CFS Base Engineering Team at Fairford, where he became familiar with Gnats operating with the Red Arrows Aerobatic Team and Course Gnats with 4 Squadron CFS. Ray left the RAF in May 1967. A year in the control tower at RAE Farnborough was followed by a 25-year career in computing with IBM. Early retirement enabled Ray to dedicate much of his time studying his favourite subjects; RAF Little Rissington during the CFS years, The Hawker Hunter's service world-wide and in operations in the Middle East, and the history of the Folland Gnat. 70 colour, 80 b/w illustrations
