History

A series of Lavochkin jet-powered fighter prototypes preceded the La-15 (NATO reporting name of "Fantail") tactical fighter / interceptor. Work stemmed from a 1945 Soviet requirement that saw a line of aircraft evolve from the captured German Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet and straight main wings to a Rolls-Royce-based engine (copied under the Klimov brand label) and swept-back wings. A 1946 requirement then streamlined a proposal for an all-modern jet-powered fighter for the Soviet Air Force which incorporated a "T-style" tail configuration - a feature also pioneered by the Germans. The end result became the La-15 which was a further evolution of the one-off La-168 prototype first flying on April 22nd, 1948. The La-15 followed suit and took to the air on January 8th, 1948 to which its serial production form eventually served alongside the competing, and decidedly more famous, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 fighter of which over 18,000 were eventually built. Comparatively, the La-15 proved a limited success, seeing just 235 produced as its power and performance proved rather underwhelming for the interceptor role. As such, the La-15 series was given up for good by 1953

Weapons

3×NS-23

Control

VTOL:flaps
AG1:close cockpit canopy

Gallery

(taken by my friend)

Have fun!