Artwork on the port side of the fin of XR541 relates to her time with the Painting and Finishing School at St. Athan. XR541 came to St. Athan in the course of 1978 after a mishap on 7 February, 1978. M-serial 8602M was allocated on 17 December 1978.
North Weald Gnat boneyard with XR541/'PF-179', the rear fuselage section of XS100 (right) and XP540 (centre). All three are former 4 FTS aircraft. The red wing set on the left is from XS100, the camouflaged wing is from XR541.
XR541 was stripped of most useful parts after the transfer from Bruntingthorpe to North Weald. The grey/green camouflage was applied at St. Athan. In 4 FTS service, the Gnat was finished in the standard red and white training colours of the day.
This Gnat T.1 is actually XR541. The aircraft was withdrawn from use after ending up in the arrester barrier at RAF Mona on 7th February, 1978, when the brakes failed during landing. XR541/'PF179' came to Bruntingthorpe in 2010.