Lagg(y)~

Lavochkin LaGG-3

- About the aircraft

The Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-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. Compared to its opponents the LaGG-3 was underpowered and, despite its wooden construction (capable of those "primitive" semi-stealth), overweight. It was unpopular with Soviet pilots, but despite this, at one point in the war, on average 12 LaGG-3s were being completed daily and 6,528 had been built in total when production switched to the Yak-3 in 1944.[1] The LaGG-3 was steadily improved, forming the basis for the more successful La-5 and La-7.

- About the variant

66th Series
The 66th Series was the last series of the LaGG-3 produced from spring 1943 to mid 1944 before production at Factory 31 in Tbilisi was switched to the Yak-3. It was 175 kg (385 lb) lighter than previous aircraft. The 66th Series can be visually identified by its four exhaust stacks, short antenna, new windscreen, reshaped radiator, and reshaped oil cooler. The 66th Series was the fastest of all LaGG-3's at 591 km/h (367 mph) and its light weight meant it was the most maneuverable and had the best climb rate. However, despite its improvements, it was outclassed by its Yakovlev competitors or enemy aircraft such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, or even the "allies from the faraway" such as Spitfire and P-51...

C O N T R O L S
Trim : Flaps, cruising 'rotate' adjuster
VTOL : Further flaps