XE665 began her service career with No. 118 Squadron in RAF Germany, operating as a Gnat T.4 in the early 1960s during the height of the Cold War. However, her time with the RAF frontline proved relatively short-lived. After only a couple of years, she was withdrawn from standard RAF duties and converted from a T.4 to the navalised T.8 standard. This modification prepared her for service with the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm, marking the start of a varied and interesting second chapter in her operational life.

Re-issued to 764 Naval Air Squadron (NAS), XE665 joined the Royal Navy’s advanced jet training organisation. Not long after, she was transferred to the HMS Heron station flight at RNAS Yeovilton. During this period, she was repainted in an eye-catching blue and white colour scheme as the Admiral’s Barge—an aircraft assigned for VIP and official transport duties. In this distinctive livery, she became a highly visible and prestigious presence within the Fleet Air Arm.

Following her time at Yeovilton, XE665 went on to serve with 759 NAS and 738 NAS at RNAS Brawdy in Wales. These units were heavily involved in weapons training and operational work-up, meaning she supported a wide range of naval aviation activities. She later returned to Yeovilton, joining the Air Direction Training Unit (ADTU), where she played a role in training fighter controllers and air defence personnel.

Her service career continued with the Fleet Requirements and Air Direction Unit (FRADU), a unit responsible for providing realistic airborne threat simulation and target facilities for Royal Navy ships and aircraft. XE665 also spent a period with 237 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) at RAF Honington, contributing to RAF training once again. In the final years of her active life, she returned to FRADU, by then finished in an overall Extra Dark Sea Grey (EDSG) colour scheme typical of Fleet Air Arm aircraft of the era.

Today, XE665 survives as a reminder of the Gnat’s unique joint-service history. Now repainted in Midair Squadron’s striking corporate silver livery, she is on display outside the AV8 café at Cotswold Airport, where visitors can see her up close and appreciate the long and varied career of this former RAF and Royal Navy aircraft.

Visit their website at https://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/hunter/survivor.php?id=298&image_id=2241

Photo thanks to Ashley Sparrowhawk Photography.