LaGG is one of the best and main fighters of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. He stood in line with the Yak and MiG fighters, which were called innovative. The name of the aircraft stands for the first letters of the names of its designers - Lavochkin, Gudkov and Gorbunov, and the number three meant just their triple union.
Issue history
Despite the fact that by 1940 the "troika" had broken up, they decided to keep the name - the LaGG-3 aircraft. Initially, the project was carried out with the letter "I" or the designation of the fighter was - I-22, and later it was changed to I-301 in honor of the number of the plant where all the design was carried out. The plant was located in Khimki, Moscow region.
At that time, the Soviet government issued an order to develop the aircraft in two variations - one was to become high- altitude with the introduction of the M-105TK turbocompression engine, and the second model of the LaGG-3 aircraft was sent to front-line activities with the M-106P engine. But due to problems with the creation of these power plants, the model came outfrom the factory tape in a completely different version.
In total, the series had one hundred copies. The first flight of the LaGG-3 aircraft was made in 1940 on March 23, when the Germans had been marching around Europe for a year. The fighter was put into operation by the beginning of 1941, and in the spring the pilots of the 24th Fighter Regiment were already retrained for it.
At that time, the Yak-1 became a competitor to the LaGG-3 aircraft. The original LaGG boards, produced by the plant at number 21, were much inferior to the Yak both in flight characteristics and in flight range. The aircraft, created by the Yakovlev Design Bureau, could occupy a ceiling of five thousand meters in almost 5.7 minutes, and the LaGG-3 aircraft reached the same height only after 6.4 minutes. However, in terms of armament, LaGG certainly succeeded, because in addition to the cannon and the ShKAS (the first Soviet rapid-fire synchronous machine gun created for the aviation industry), a large-caliber machine gun was also installed on the hull.
Fuselage material
To create the first composite model of the LaGG-3 aircraft, it was decided to use a lightweight version of delta wood. But to create it, it was necessary to import foreign resins with phenol-formaldehyde, and the Yak was created entirely from steel that was very rare in the USSR. Then the designers, trying to comply with the agreement with the customer, reduced the amount of metal in the construction of the LaGG, creating its body entirely from wood.
Delta wood at that time was a unique material and had high strength. Metal parts were installed only in those places wherethe tree no longer passed the technical requirements, for example, the engine hood was made of steel alloy.
Distinguishing feature
A distinctive feature of the LaGG-1 aircraft, as it was called in the design, was the wing. It was created in one piece and inserted into the fuselage so that it was a monolith and increased the percentage of strength of the entire structure of the machine. Moreover, thanks to such a wing, the aircraft gained very well in mass. From the photo of the LaGG-3 aircraft, you can see the unique design of the entire model.
LaGG production aircraft
LaGG, mass-produced, turned out to be completely different than the prototype. Firstly, they have become much heavier, and secondly, their surface has not been polished, like the I-301. This design of the car led to a significant loss of speed.
In addition to all of the above, two months after the invasion of Nazi Germany across the borders of the USSR in 1941, the party ordered Lavochkin to equip all issued fighters with additional fuel tanks, which were to be suspended using special knots. And for the use of cars in the winter months, ski chassis had to be installed on them.
After several test drives of the LaGG-3 aircraft in this configuration, Lavochkin and Gorbunov realized that it would be impossible to reduce the mass by any means. Due to their heaviness, by 1944 the serial production of aircraft was discontinued, since the Yak turned out to be moreeffective. In addition, later the Yaks were able to upgrade, having received several different types.
Modifications
What modifications did LaGG mean:
- 1-3 series, the same ones in which the speed functions have decreased due to the deterioration of the quality of the finish.
- 4-7 series came out with an improved carburetor.
- The LaGG-3-8 aircraft was equipped with an AFA camera used in reconnaissance operations.
- There was also a "tank destroyer" armed with a machine gun and a cannon motor. Eighty-five of these models were produced.
- The 11th series is a variant of the fighter-bomber, which had the tanks on the wing removed and two bomb racks were installed, where bombs with a caliber of up to fifty kilograms were placed.
- 23rd series was with an enlarged tail.
- The 28th series turned out to be as light as possible, some models could remove the tail wheel.
- The 29th series was released with an updated radio and a larger propeller.
- 34th series was equipped with a 37 mm cannon and a 12.7 mm machine gun.
- 35 series was created with significant changes aimed at improving aerodynamic performance.
- And the last series was the aircraft LaGG-3-66. This was the most advanced version, in which armored glass was installed and the delta wood was replaced with pine, thereby reducing the specific gravity. In general, thanks to this modification, the La-5 aircraft was created.
Comparison with other fighters
The main comparison for LaGG has always been Yak. But the fighter, equipped with the M-105PF engine, developed a speed of thirty kilometers more than the Yak-7B. The downside, of course, was the life of the LaGG under direct fire, because the wood was highly flammable.
The advantage over the MiG was only in high speed at an altitude of three thousand meters. Otherwise, the MiG had a high rate of climb, and also entered into a maneuverable battle without problems even at altitudes exceeding ten thousand meters. LaGG would not have survived at five thousand. But in general, the MiG was originally created as a high- altitude fighter with an interceptor function. But the weapons of LaGG were much better and higher in terms of quality. That is why during the war he was nicknamed "the lacquered guaranteed coffin".
Requirement for constructors
After successful tests of the I-301, before launching the aircraft into mass production, the party again received a request in an orderly tone. It spoke about the need to refine the aircraft, in particular, to increase its range to a thousand kilometers. It was then that the designers installed additional fuel tanks, because it was not possible to fulfill this “request” in another way. Of course, they understood that the weight category would also increase. But along with the Yak and MiG, LaGG still became a new generation aircraft of the Soviet Air Force.
War years
Despite all the difficulties overcome during the design, I-301 by 1940 in many wayssuperior to the German fighter Messerschmitt. However, by the year 1941, a new German modification (Bf-109F-2) appeared, which was equipped with a different armor, which improved aerodynamics, as well as more powerful engines were installed and a fifteen-millimeter caliber gun was removed under the hood.
The situation turned out to be interesting, since the 29th series of the LaGG-3 aircraft lost all its advantages and became equal in efficiency with the German model. Even an additional machine gun on a Soviet fighter as a whole has ceased to be a trump card.
LaGG Refinement
The flight performance of the LaGG-3 improved only by 1943. Gorbunov then did a great job, but even that was not enough to regain dominance over the Germans. The aircraft was armed with a 23 mm cannon and a heavy machine gun, while cruising speed was increased to 618 kilometers per hour.
But for the harsh winter of 43-44, this was not enough. Then the designer decided to put a completely different power plant on the car in the form of a star-shaped M-82 engine. This feint was done just on the latest model - 66. Some changes in the design were taken from Yakovlev's drawings. As a result, the maximum rate of climb reached 893 meters per minute.
However, having a more successful Yak in service, the State Defense Committee decided to discontinue LaGG production at one of the most powerful aircraft factories and start manufacturing Yakovlevs on it. By 1943, the assembly of LaGG-3moved to Tbilisi. The 66th series was completely produced by the Georgian plant. In total, LaGG-3-66 was produced in the amount of 6528 pieces. Subsequently, these fighters participated in an air battle over the Kuban. It was in Georgia that Gorbunov tried unsuccessfully to equip the fighter with M-106 or M-107 engines.
Specifications
According to the technical specifications, the LaGG-3 has a fuselage length of 8.81 meters and a wingspan of 9.81 meters. The wing area is 17.62 square meters, which is quite a bit more than that of the Yak-1 or MiG-3. The takeoff weight of the 1941 LaGG-3 was 3280 kilograms, and the 66th series weighed 2990 kilograms, which is one hundred kilograms more than that of its competitor Yak-1. The power of the LaGG-3-66 engine was 1210 horsepower, which is one hundred horsepower less than that of the MiG-3.
In flight data, of course, the MiG remained superior, since its ceiling was 11,500 meters, while the LaGG-3-66 after its modernization increased to only 9,500 meters, when the original prototype could rise to 9,300. the latest LaGG model was 650 kilometers and this was with one gun and one machine gun, when the I-301 prototype had a range of 700 kilometers, taking into account the presence of three machine guns and one gun.
Sometimes six rockets and two bombs, each weighing fifty kilograms, could be additionally suspended under the wing. From time to time, being in the field, the pilots attached two additional machine guns under the wing, located in the gondolas.
The chassis of the fighter wastricycle, one of the wheels was under the tail. For the winter, they still came up with a ski support, and the fighter could be used in snowy conditions. By the way, the wooden parts of the aircraft were glued together with special glue, and not screwed on, and the outside of the entire skin was covered with fabric.
