- Yes
- No
Folland Gnat F.1
Hello and welcome to my suggestion for the Folland Gnat F.1! A British made light Strike/Attack Fighter that saw service in Finland, Yugoslavia, India and Britain (only the T.1 model but given the British made and trialled it I think they should get this as well).
History
Spoiler
The Gnat was designed by the popular aircraft designer W. E. W. Petter, famous for designing the Canberra and early design of the Lightning, as a follow on from Follands Private venture Prototype, The Folland Midge, to meet the RAFs requirements for a light jet fighter laid out in OR.303. The Gnats design allowed its maintenance and construction to be carried out without the use of specialised tools, making it ideal for countries that were still developing their industry, such as a recently independent India at the time.
The Gnat is seen as playing a major role towards the issuing of the NATO NBMR-1 requirement which sought to create a standardised light strike/ attack fighter for all NATO nations air forces to equip, A competition the G.91 would go on to win.
whilst never used by the RAF as a fighter (Only being tested and evaluated) the two seater Gnat T.1 was used as a trainer for some time, earning fame through being the main aircraft used by the Red Arrows display team until its retirement in 1979. The F.1 did however see use in the Air Forces of Finland, Yugoslavia and most predominantly India, where it earned its nickname “Sabre Slayer” from downing Pakistani F-86 Sabres in the Second and Third Indo-Pakistani wars.
The Gnat also earned slight fame in fiction, depicting the carrier based “Oscar EW-5894 Phallus Tactical Fighter Bomber” in the 1991 comedy film Hot Shots!
Images
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Gnat F.1 Displaying possible armament options, including 2 inch RPs and 540lb bombs
Finnish Gnats refuelling from a truck from what appears to be a makeshift airfield
Gnat in flight above English countryside
Folland Gnat on display, possibly at Farnborough
Display of possible camouflages for the Gnat in game
additional camos for Finnish and Yugoslavian Airframes
Gnat F.1 prototype at Farnborough again, again showing some of its armament
additional Photos thrown in showing the Gnat depicting the Phallus Tactical Fighter Bomber
Specifications/Armament
Spoiler
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 29 ft 9 in (9.07 m)
- Wingspan: 22 ft 2 in (6.76 m)
- Height: 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
- Wing area: 136.6 sq ft (12.69 m2)
- Airfoil: RAE 102 modified
- Empty weight: 4,800 lb (2,177 kg)
- Gross weight: 6,575 lb (2,982 kg) interceptor, 8,765 lb (3,976 kg) tactical, with external tanks and armament
- Max takeoff weight: 9,040 lb (4,100 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 175 imp gal (210 US gal; 800 L) in seven fuselage tanks + 25 imp gal (30 US gal; 110 L) in two optional rear fuselage tanks + two optional 66 imp gal (79 US gal; 300 L) jettisonable under-wing slipper tanks; Maximum fuel 332 imp gal (399 US gal; 1,510 L)
- Powerplant: 1 × Bristol Siddeley BOr.2 Orpheus 701-01 turbojet engine, 4,705 lbf (20.93 kN) thrust
Performance
- Maximum speed: 604 kn (695 mph, 1,119 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,096 m)
- Maximum speed: Mach 0.98
- Range: 434.5 nmi (500.0 mi, 804.7 km)
- Endurance: 1 hour 10 minutes (normal), 2 hours 15 minutes (max fuel)
- Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,000 m) +
- Rate of climb: 20,000 ft/min (101.6 m/s)
- Time to altitude: 45,000 ft (13,716 m) 5 minutes
- Take-off distance to 50 ft (15 m): 2,190 ft (668 m) (interceptor)
- Take-off distance to 50 ft (15 m): 3,780 ft (1,152 m) (tactical)
- Landing distance from 50 ft (15 m): 2,200 ft (671 m)
Armament
- Guns: 2x 30mm ADEN cannon with 115 rpg
- Rockets: 12x 3 in (76 mm) rockets, 2 inch RP rocket pods in Matra launchers
- Bombs: 2x 540 lb bombs
Avionics
- VHF radio
- Nav aids
- Gyro gunsight
- Ranging radar
Gnat in game
Spoiler
In game the Gnat would perform similarly to a mini Hunter, decently fast for its BR, good manoeuvrability, good armament etc. except the Gnat would also feature far improved CAS and ground strike abilty thanks to its Twin 540lb bombs or Twin Matra launchers giving it an edge in ground battles, in the UK it would most likely come in-between the Venom and Hunter, whilst in Sweden it would come in-between the Vampires and J34.
In terms of BR the Gnat would probably sit somewhere around 8.7/9.0 at rank V or VI given its lack of Air-to-Air missiles and countermeasures but its ability to easily combat Mig 15s and F 86s.
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