Lavochkin La-5
The Lavochkin La-5 was a Soviet fighter of the Second World War, developed from the LaGG-3 by replacing its inline engine with the much more powerful Shvetsov ASh-82 radial. Rushed from a March 1942 first flight into full production that July, it gave Soviet pilots a fighter able to meet the best German designs on almost equal footing at the low altitudes of the Eastern Front. In all, 9,920 aircraft of all variants were built, and the type was the basis for the La-7.
Why It Mattered
The La-5 was the fighter that let Soviet pilots meet the best German fighters on nearly equal terms, at the low altitudes where the Eastern Front air war was actually fought. It reached that standard by a shortcut: the LaGG-3, outclassed in service and losing its factories to Yakovlev production, was given the much more powerful Shvetsov ASh-82 radial in place of its inline engine. The prototype flew in March 1942, and by July the type was ordered into full production, including the conversion of unfinished LaGG-3 airframes. In all, 9,920 La-5s of all variants were built, and the type became the basis of the La-7, Lavochkin's further improved fighter.
Design Notes
The La-5 was an adaptation of the basic LaGG-3 airframe for the 14-cylinder two-row Shvetsov M-82 radial, made without major redesign of the airframe's fundamental components. The prototype conversion first flew in March 1942 with the M-82 rated at 1,700 hp for take-off, and the type was cleared for service testing that September with two 20 mm cannon. New production aircraft had the aft fuselage decking cut down to improve the pilot's view aft, a change that defined the La-5F. From late March 1943 the definitive La-5FN used the fuel-injected M-82FN engine, rated at 1,850 hp for take-off. A captured La-5FN assessed by Luftwaffe test pilot Hans-Werner Lerche excelled below 3,000 m, but its engine controls were separate levers that forced the pilot to make constant adjustments.
Operational History
The La-5F arrived at the front line in February 1943, where it could challenge the Bf 109G-2 and the Fw 190A-4 on more or less equal terms, and at tree-top height it was even faster. One of the most successful La-5 units, the 5th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, flew 3,802 combat sorties in the type, claiming 128 enemy aircraft shot down while losing 52 of its own. Ivan Kozhedub, who flew Lavochkin fighters throughout the war, fought in the La-5 from March 1943 to the end of April 1944. By the end of 1943 he had already been credited with 25 enemy aircraft destroyed. Production continued until late 1944, by which time 9,920 aircraft of the type had been built, including the La-5UTI two-seat trainers.
Afterlife
A number of La-5s continued in Eastern Bloc service after the war, including in Czechoslovakia, where the Air Force flew the type as the S-95. The La-5's own development line ended with the La-7, the further improved fighter for which it had been the basis. Survivors are scarce: the only one the sources list is an La-5 wreck held in storage at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia. A replica of the La-5 flown by Captain Georgii Kostylev, which served over Leningrad in 1943, is displayed at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow.