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#Post#: 11470--------------------------------------------------
Plane of the Week: Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3
By: vonofterdingen Date: June 1, 2020, 2:13 pm
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I was a bit surprised to see that the
Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 has not made it into the plane
of the week thread yet. Though not a spectacular performer, by
any means, it played a vital role in slowing German progress in
the early stages of the Great Patriotic War. It was not popular
with its pilots, who repurposed the letters to mean something
like Casket Varnished and ready for use. To me it was somewhat
analogous to the US use of the P-39 in the Pacific Theater;
intensely disliked but necessary to use. Perhaps the LaGG-3’s
best contribution to the war effort was the collection of
lessons learned that led to the development of later Lavochkin
models such as the La-5.
From Wikipedia:
The Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 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. Despite its wooden construction, it was overweight and
underpowered, at one stage 12 LaGG-3s were being completed daily
and 6,528 had been built when factory 31 in Tbilisi switched to
Yak-3 production in 1944.
On 29 June 1940 the LaGG-3 was accepted for production and
the first plant to build LaGG-3's was Plant No.23 in Leningrad
and was tested in December 1940. As soon they were built, the
first aircraft were sent to their units in Soviet Asia.[4] The
LaGG-3 proved immensely unpopular with pilots. It was somewhat
hard to control as it reacted sluggishly to stick forces. In
particular, it was difficult to pull out of a dive, and if the
stick was pulled too hard it tended to fall into a spin. As a
consequence, sharp turns were difficult to perform. Moreover,
pilots reported several imperfections: badly made hydraulic
systems, broken connecting rods, oil leaks, engine overheating,
rapid engine wear and loss of power. Other faults included,
defective landing gear, tail wheel failure, poor quality cockpit
glass, poorly finished cowling panels, and poor quality delta
wood panels due to rushed production, as a result of the German
invasion. The quality of aircraft varied widely from factory to
factory.
As reports of these problems came back to Lavochkin's
Experimental Design Bureau (OKB), in February 1941, no less than
2,228 modifications were ordered to be introduced into the
series. Actually, despite the military's doubts, the Soviet
government ordered 66 series of the Lavochkin fighter, which
underwent a host of successive improvements in engines,
propeller, and armament.[4] The airframe was lightened as well.
The LaGG team re-examined the design and pared down the
structure as much as possible. Moreover, automatic slats were
added to the wings to improve climb and maneuverability on the
35th Series and further weight was saved by installing lighter
armament (the first four series were equipped with one axial
Berezin machine gun firing through a hollow propeller shaft, two
more synchronized cowl mounted Berezin machine guns with 200
rounds per gun and two synchronized 7.62 mm (0.3 in) ShKAS
machine guns above and to the rear of the cowling with 325
rounds per gun; from 8th Series the axial Berezin was replaced
by a 20 mm (0.79 in) ShVAK, coupled with a port Berezin in the
cowling.[4] But the improvement was slight and, thus, without an
alternative powerplant, when the LaGG-3 was first committed to
combat in July 1941, it was effective against bombers but it was
completely outclassed by the Messerschmitt Bf 109 F.
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In combat, the main advantage of the LaGG-3 was the strength
of its airframe and the fact that it did not easily catch fire,
despite the extensive use of wood. However, the laminated wooden
panels did tend to shatter when hit by high explosive rounds and
Soviet pilots nicknamed the plane Lakirovanny Garantirovanny
Grob, or "guaranteed varnished coffin".
Later in 1941, the LaGG-3 appeared with an internally
balanced rudder, retractable ski landing gear for the winter,
retractable tailwheel and plumbed for drop tanks. The result was
still not good enough. Even with the lighter airframe and
revised supercharged engine, the LaGG-3 was underpowered.
However, despite its limitations, some Soviet pilots managed to
reach the status of ace flying the LaGG-3. G. I. Grigor'yev,
from 178th IAP, was credited of at least 11 air victories plus
two shared. But pictures of his LaGG-3 "Yellow 6", in
November–December 1941, show 15 "stars", so his score was
probably higher. Experiments with fitting a Shvetsov M-82 radial
engine to the LaGG-3 airframe finally solved the power problem
and led to the Lavochkin La-5 and La-7.
[img width=1024
height=671]
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In game…
This is one of my favorite planes to fly. And right now I am
sitting here trying to think of why that is. I believe that I
just like early war scenarios, and when flying early war on the
eastern front this plane is my best bet. I prefer the Yak-1, but
the LaGG-3 is a better plane for me than the I-16 or MiG-3.
Maybe I am just a sucker for the underdog. I don’t feel a lot of
confidence going against a Bf-109 but then I do not feel
overwhelmed either.
#Post#: 11472--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3
By: larsresult Date: June 2, 2020, 7:17 am
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It is not often I fly the Russian fighters but I prefer the
whole Yak series as more survivable than early LaGGs and I16s.
The later La5FN/7 were very good though. Despite its poor
reputation the LaGG3 was able to take a lot of damage and could
deal with most bombers easily.
#Post#: 11473--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3
By: Beowolff Date: June 2, 2020, 8:31 am
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I've flown this bird a lot...but it's been a GREAT while since
I've thought to fly it again. (Been years now.)
I actually love this bird and do fairly well with her in combat.
This is a super good write up for this plane.
Thank you, Von! ;D
S!
Beo
#Post#: 11474--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3
By: JG51_Ruski Date: June 2, 2020, 11:29 am
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good post Von I've learned far more from your post than any
other forum I've been in
#Post#: 11475--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3
By: DHumphrey Date: June 2, 2020, 12:06 pm
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Another hit Von, great POW !!!
I too flew this plane quite a bit during the early years of the
game, but like Beo, I've not flown her in a long time. Might
have to do a couple of Quick Missions and see if I can still get
a 109 or two. :)
#Post#: 11478--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3
By: vonofterdingen Date: June 2, 2020, 12:29 pm
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The nose cannon is a saving grace, but don't try to dive to get
out of trouble like you might in a P-40. Pieces and parts start
to fall off.
#Post#: 11485--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3
By: cafs Date: June 2, 2020, 5:59 pm
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[quote author=vonofterdingen link=topic=1658.msg11478#msg11478
date=1591118982]
The nose cannon is a saving grace, but don't try to dive to get
out of trouble like you might in a P-40. Pieces and parts start
to fall off.
[/quote]
Another great PoW, Von!
That's true, Von, it will fall apart in a fast dive. Always keep
this bird in the horizontal fight envelope.
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