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Yellowjacks

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Yellowjacks

The yellow Folland Gnat team of No. 4 Flying Training School at RAF Valley, flown for a single season in 1964 and reformed that November as the Red Arrows.

1964تأسست
Gnat T.1الطائرات
5In the display
Disbanded 1964حالة
Photo: Adrian Pingstone (Arpingstone) / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
المشغلسلاح الجو الملكيدولةالمملكة المتحدةيكتبFormation aerobatic teamHome baseRAF ValleyحالةDisbanded 1964
القصة

Yellowjacks: how the team came to be and what it flies today

Gnats at Valley

The two-seat Folland Gnat T.1 reached No. 4 Flying Training School at RAF Valley on Anglesey in November 1962 for advanced pilot training. In May 1964 instructors there formed a display team led by Flt Lt Lee Jones, a former Black Arrows pilot, and named it the Yellowjacks after his call-sign. The team flew five yellow-painted Gnats during the 1964 season.

From yellow to red

Higher command disliked both the name and the yellow paint, and in November 1964 the team was officially reformed as the Red Arrows, the RAF’s new full-time aerobatic team. Lee Jones led it, and the Red Arrows kept the Gnat until 1979, moving to the BAe Hawk for the 1980 season. The Yellowjacks therefore did not so much disband as change their name and colours.

Higher command disliked both the name and the yellow paint, and in November 1964 the team was officially reformed as the Red Arrows, the RAF’s new full-time aerobatic team. Lee Jones led it, and the Red Arrows kept the Gnat until 1979, moving to the BAe Hawk for the 1980 season.Yellowjacks · verified 2026-10-02
لمحة سريعة

Yellowjacks in numbers

The team

Formation
5 aircraft

  • Five Gnat T.1s
  • Instructors of No. 4 FTS

الطائرة

Flown
Folland Gnat T.1

  • Gnat T.1 (1964)

بيت

Based at
RAF Valley

  • مدرسة التدريب على الطيران رقم 4

The display

Aircraft in the display
5
Livery
yellow
الطائرة

Every type Yellowjacks has flown

الطائرات سنين Number ملحوظة
Folland Gnat T.1 1964–1964 5
Known for

What Yellowjacks is known for

  • Named after leader Lee Jones’s call-sign (Wikipedia).
  • Reformed in November 1964 as the Red Arrows (Wikipedia).
The pilots

Who leads Yellowjacks

  • Flt Lt Lee Jones · Leader
الجدول الزمني

Yellowjacks, year by year

1962

Gnat T.1 arrives at RAF Valley for advanced training.

1964

Yellowjacks formed by No. 4 FTS instructors under Flt Lt Lee Jones.

1964

Display season with five yellow Gnats.

1964

Reformed as the Red Arrows.

أسئلة وأجوبة

Everything people ask about Yellowjacks

What aircraft did the Yellowjacks fly?
Five Folland Gnat T.1 trainers painted yellow.
Where were the Yellowjacks based?
RAF Valley on Anglesey, with No. 4 Flying Training School.
How are the Yellowjacks related to the Red Arrows?
In November 1964 the team was reformed as the Red Arrows, keeping the Gnat and its leader Lee Jones.
Why were they called the Yellowjacks?
The name came from the leader’s call-sign.

واصل الجولة

Around Yellowjacks

المشغلسلاح الجو الملكيFleet, bases and order of battle of the service that flies the team.اقرأ صفحة سلاح الجو الملكيFormation aerobatic teamرحلة الطيران التذكارية لمعركة بريطانياThe RAF’s own airworthy Second World War aircraft, led by Lancaster PA474, flown from Coningsby to commemorate those who fell under the motto “Lest We…Read the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight pageFormation aerobatic teamBlack ArrowsNo. 111 Squadron’s gloss-black Hunters, the RAF’s premier team of the late 1950s and the only formation ever to loop 22 aircraft, at Farnborough in 1958.Read the Black Arrows pageفرق العرضEvery military display teamAll the formation, solo and helicopter teams in the Order of Battle, active and disbanded.Open the list
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Verified 2026-10-02.