Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-3

infobox Aircraft
name = LaGG-3
type = fighter
manufacturer = Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov



caption = A Series 35 LaGG-3 (Finnish markings).
designer =
first flight = March 30, 1939
introduced = late 1941
retired =
status =
primary user = Soviet Union
more users =
produced = 1941-1942
number built = 6,258
unit cost =
variants with their own articles = Lavochkin La-5 Lavochkin La-7The Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-3 (Лавочкин-Горбунов-Гудков ЛаГГ-3) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a refinement of the earlier LaGG-1, and was one of the most modern aircraft available to the Soviet Air Force at the time of Germany's invasion in 1941.

Development

The main deficiency of the LaGG-1 design was power. A more powerful version of its Klimov M-105 engine was tried. The improvement was poor and without an alternative powerplant, the only solution was to lighten the airframe. The LaGG team re-examined the design and pared down the structure as much as possible. Fixed slats were added to the wings to improve climb and manoeuvrability and further weight was saved by installing lighter armament. The LaGG-3 replaced the LaGG-1 immediately.

The result was still not good enough although it came close to its rival Bf-109F in performance and was superior in maneuverability. Still, even with the lighter airframe and supercharged engine, the LaGG-3 was underpowered and proved immensely unpopular with pilots. The novel, wood-laminate construction of the aircraft continued to be poor quality (as with its predecessor) and pilots joked that rather than being an acronym of the designers' names (Lavochkin, Gorbunov, and Goudkov) "LaGG" stood for "lakirovanny garantirovanny grob" ("guaranteed varnished coffin" - лакированный гарантированный гроб). Some aircraft supplied to the front line were up to 40 km/h (25 mph) slower than they should have been and some were not airworthy. In combat, LaGG-3's main advantage was its strong airframe. Although the laminated wood did not burn it shattered severely when hit by high explosive rounds.

The LaGG-3 was improved during production, resulting in 66 minor variants in the 6,258 that were built. Experiments with fitting a large radial engine to the LaGG-3 airframe finally solved the power problem, and led to the superb Lavochkin La-5.

Operators

;FIN
*Finnish Air Force operated 3 captured examples. [Keskinen et all 1977, p. 74-87 and 126.] ;JPN
*Imperial Japanese Army Air Service operated 1 captured example for tests only. [Green and Swanborough 1977, p. 13.] ;USSR
*Soviet Air Force

pecifications LaGG-3

(data for LaGG-3 series 66) [Jane 1946, p. 194-195.] aircraft specification
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

crew=One
length main=8.81 m
length alt=28 ft 11 in
span main=9.80 m
span alt=32 ft 1.75 in
height main=2.54 m
height alt=8 ft 4 in
area main=17.4 m²
area alt=188 ft²
empty weight main=2,205 kg
empty weight alt=4,851 lb
loaded weight main=2,620 kg
loaded weight alt=5,764 lb
max takeoff weight main=3,190 kg
max takeoff weight alt=7,018 lb
engine (prop)=Klimov M-105PF
type of prop=liquid-cooled V-12
number of props=1
power main=924 kW
power alt=1,260 hp
max speed main=575 km/h
max speed alt=357 mph
range main=1000 km
range alt=621 mi
ceiling main=9,700 m
ceiling alt=31,825 ft
climb rate main=14.9 m/s
climb rate alt=2,926 ft/min
loading main=150 kg/m²
loading alt=31 lb/ft²
power/mass main=350 W/kg
power/mass alt=0.21 hp/lb
armament=
* 2× 12.7 mm (0.50 in) Berezin BS machine guns
* 1× 20 mm ShVAK cannon
* 6× RS-82 or RS-132 rockets up a total of 200kg (441 lb)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Abanshin, Michael E. and Gut, Nina. "Fighting Lavochkin, Eagles of the East No.1". Lynnwood, WA: Aviation International, 1993. ISBN unknown.
* Gordon, Yefim. "Lavochkin's Piston-Engined Fighters (Red Star Volume 10)". Earl Shilton, Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1-85780-151-2.
* Gordon, Yefim and Khazanov, Dmitri. "Soviet Combat Aircraft of the Second World War, Volume One: Single-Engined Fighters". Earl Shilton, Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing Ltd., 1998. ISBN 1-85780-083-4.
* Green, William. "Warplanes of the Second World War, Volume Three: Fighters". London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1961 (seventh impression 1973). ISBN 0-356-01447-9.
* Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. "WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: Soviet Air Force Fighters, Part 1". London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1977. ISBN 0-354-01026-3.
* Jane, Fred T. "The LaGG-3". "Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II". London: Studio, 1946. ISBN 1-85170-493-0.
* Keskinen, Kalevi; Stenman, Kari and Niska, Klaus. "Venäläiset Hävittäjät (Suomen Ilmavoimien Historia 7)" (in Finnish with English Summary). Espoo, Finland: Tietoteos, 1977. ISBN 951-9035-25-7.
* Kotelnikov, Vladimir; Orlov, Mikhail and Yakubovich, Nikolay. "LaGG-3 (Wydawnictwo Militaria 249)" (in Polish). Warszawa, Poland: Wydawnictwo Militaria, 2006. ISBN 83-7219-249-9.
* Stapfer, Hans-Heiri. "LaGG Fighters in Action (Aircraft in Action Number 163)". Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1996. ISBN 0-89747-634-7.

ee also

aircontent
related=
* LaGG-1
* Lavochkin La-5
* Lavochkin La-7

similar aircraft=
* Curtiss P-40
* Kawasaki Ki-61
* Messerschmitt Bf 109
* Supermarine Spitfire

sequence=
LaGG-1 - LaGG-3 - La-5 - La-7 - La-9

lists=
* List of fighter aircraft
* List of military aircraft of the Soviet Union and the CIS