The Saber Killers..

Kunal Biswas

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Gun camera stills released by the Indian Air Force show F/L M.A. Ganapathy's Gnat scoring hits on F/O Khalil Ahmed's Canadair Sabre during the Battle of Boyra, 1971 Indo-Pak war
 

sesha_maruthi27

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Gnat is a good example of the words that, IT IS NOT THE EQUIPMENT BUT THE SOLDIER WHO IS HANDLING THE EQUIPMENT, ON WHICH THE QUALITY FUNCTIONING OF THE EQUIPMENT DEPENDS ON......

Typically the technology is not which makes one win the war but the SOLDIERS DEDICATION is the important thing which decides the fate of the victory in a WAR....
 

W.G.Ewald

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Folland Gnat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.[1][2] 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.



Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Gnats were used again by India in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 against Pakistan.[19][20] The most notable action was the Battle of Boyra where the first dogfights over East Pakistan (Bangladesh) took place. The IAF Gnats downed two PAF Canadair Sabres 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,[21] scoring hits on two of the Sabres in the process,[22][23] before being overwhelmed. 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 and heavier 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.[24][25] The Canadair Sabre Mk 6 was widely regarded as the best dogfighter of its era.[26] 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.[13] 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.[19][20] The success of the indigenously produced Gnats against the more sophisticated Pakistani-flown aircraft was viewed as a significant achievement.[27]
 

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