Lavochkin La-11
Template:Infobox Aircraft The Lavochkin La-11 (NATO reporting name Fang) was an early post-World War II long-range piston-engined Soviet fighter aircraft.
Development
One of the recommendations from the government testing of Lavochkin La-130 (Lavochkin La-9 prototype) was to further develop it into a long-range escort fighter. The resultant La-134 prototype (also sometimes referred to as La-9M) featured increased fuel and oil capacity. Armament was reduced to three cannons. The prototype flew in May 1947. The second prototype, La-134D had fuel capacity increased by an additional 275 l (73 US gal) with wing and external fuel tanks. The aircraft was fitted with larger tires to accommodate the increased weight and amenities for long flights such as increased padding in the seat, armrests, and a urinal. In addition, a full radio navigation suite was installed. Not surprisingly, combat performance with a full fuel load suffered. However, as the fuel load approached that of La-9, so did the performance. The aircraft was found to be poorly suited for combat above 7,000 m (23,000 ft). The new fighter, designated La-11 entered production in 1947. By the end of production in 1951, a total of 1,182 aircraft were built.
Operational history
First documented combat use of La-11 took place on April 8, 1950, when these fighters shot down an American Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer over the Baltic Sea with all 10 crew lost. Later the same year, La-11 shot down a Lockheed P2V Neptune.
In February and March, 1950, the 106th Fighter Aerial Division of Soviet Air Force, consisting with the 351th La-11 Fighter Regiment and the 29th Mig-15 Fighter Regiment, moved to Shanghai help against bombing of ROCAF. On March 7, 1950, a B-25 bomber was shot down by La-11 fighters near Nanjing. On March 14, 1950, a B-26 bomber was shot down by La-11 in Xuzhou. On March 20, 1950, 5 La-11 fighters encountered a group of P-51 north-west of Shanghai, but the P-51 immediately retreated. On April 2, 1950, two P-51 was shot down by La-11 in Shanghai. After that, Mig-15 took over the fighting task. ROCAF stopped bombing Shanghai since that June. Soviet Air Force leave Shanghai in Octobor 1950.
By July 1950, La-11 were flying combat air patrol missions over North Korea.
On November 30 1951, 16 La-11 fighters of the 4th Fighter Aerial Regiment of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army Air Force, escorting 9 Tu-2 bombers of PVAAF to bomb the enemy of South Korean in the island of Taehwa-do (대화도/大和島) . The operation was ambushed by more than 30 F-86 fighters of US Air Force. 4 Tu-2 bombers and 3 La-11 fighters were shot down.
The aircraft's main target during the Korean War was the Douglas A-26 Invader night bomber, although numerous skirmishes with North American P-51 Mustangs also took place. Attempts to intercept Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers proved fruitless. La-11 required 26 minutes to reach B-29's cruise altitude and once there had a speed advantage of only 20 km/h (12 mph) making it easy for the B-29 to evade the attacker in a shallow dive.
On July 23, 1954, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster civilian airliner, registration VR-HEU, operated by Cathay Pacific Airways, en route from Bangkok to Hong Kong, was shot down by two La-11 fighters of the 85th Fighter Aerial Regiment of PLAAF off the coast of Hainan Island, killing 10. The two fighter pilot erroneously regarded the C-54 as ROCAF's bomber. Three days after, in the same site, two La-11 of the same troop were shot by 12 AD-4 airplanes of US Navy as retaliation.
La-11 fighters of PLAAF took part in the Battle of Yijiangshan Islands from 1954 to 1955, escorting the ships of PLA Navy and Tu-2 bombers.
Users
Imported 163 La-11 fighters from 1950-1953. The last 18 La-11 airplanes retired in 1966.
Specifications (La-11)
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
Performance
Armament
- 3 × 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannons, 75 rounds/gun
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
References
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Gordon, Yefim. Lavochkin's Piston-Engined Fighters (Red Star Volume 10). Earl Shilton, Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1-85780-151-2.
- Kopenhagen, W (ed.), Das große Flugzeug-Typenbuch (in German). Transpress, 1987, ISBN 3-344-00162-0
External links
The initial version of this article was based on material from aviation.ru. It has been released under the GFDL by the copyright holder.