Folland Gnat - Survivors

T.1 XR992 taxiing at Church Fenton, 2015; author

Gnats have thankfully survived retirement in fairly good form, with many surviving examples being airworthy - as a cheap high performance jet, it really can't be beaten - which of course is what the whole idea was in the first place!

The list here is compiled from a large number of sources, with particular credit to Alan Allen, Allan Barley, Victor Bingham, Dave Thomas, Warbirds of India and the contents of Ken Ellis' Wrecks & Relics (18th edition) and Otger van der Kooij's European Wrecks & Relics (2nd edition). However due to the difficulty of finding out some of the information and the swiftness with which Gnats seem to change hands, I have no doubt there are errors and omissions in the listing.

Click on the serial of a survivor entry for further information. Please comment on any individual survivor entry you feel requires an update!

Bluebird K7 2016 engine test; Bluebird Project

Another Gnat 'survivor', of sorts, is Bluebird K7! The T.1 prototype, XM691, was disposed of after the end of its useful life, and was acquired by Donald Campbell to use the engine as a spare for his record-breaking Bluebird K7 boat. However Donald's team soon realised the Gnat's fin could also be used on the boat, and it was incorporated into a rework of the boat's design. After some teething troubles a static test of the engine went badly wrong, with the intakes collapsing and being sucked into the Orpheus, damaging it in the process.

Bluebird K7 2018 run; Bluebird Project

The spare engine from XM691 thus came into use as a replacement, and the intake structure was beefed up. So with XM691's engine and tail, the new K7 was ready to go and take on the World Water Speed Record (already held by Donald, but he wanted to take her past 300mph). On 4th January 1967 Donald achieved 297 mph on his first run of the day on Coniston Water. Sadly on the required return run, K7's nose reared up, she became briefly airborne and somersaulted backwards, smashing into the lake. Donald was killed instantly and the boat was torn apart, sinking to the bottom. You can read more about Donald Campbell on the Across the Lake website.

The wreckage of Bluebird K7 was recovered from the lake in 2001 (as was Donald's body not long afterwards), and Bluebird has been restored by the Bluebird Project. She undertook some test runs in 2018 on the Isle of Bute, but sadly since then a legal morass has overtaken the plans to return her to Coniston. Fingers crossed that 2021 will see all parties involved come together to thrash out an acceptable solution.