 Lavochkin’s Piston-Engined Fighters
Red Star Volume 10
By Yefim Gordon
Midland Publishing, 2003
ISBN 1-85780-151-2
Softbound, 128 Pages
Available from Specialty Press for $32.95 The latest title in the Red Star covers a subject that I am somewhat familiar with, as I have just finished illustrating several Lavochkins for the upcoming Classic Publication book on Soviet Fighter Colors, as well as doing the artwork for the 1/32 Craftworks La-5 kit. Even with all that background, this book managed to turn up several photos of aircraft I had not seen before, definitely a nice surprise. But while my illustrations covered just the wartime Lavochkins, this book handles all the piston-engined aircraft, up through the La-11, with text, photos and drawings. Logically, this book starts with the LaGG-3 series of fighters, and I cannot think of a more convoluted aircraft than the LaGG-3. This book sheds a little light on the problem, but it is not a definitive treatise on the differences between all the LaGG-3 variants. This is a wise choice, as you could easily fill the entire 128 pages with nothing but documenting the different modifications made by the different factories producing the LaGG-3. The differences in armament, engine arrangement, and airframe streamlining are varied and most are touched upon, if not explained. Ultimately, though, the LaGG-3 was just a stepping stone to the more impressive series, the La-5. The Lavochkin La-5, and later the La-7, were some of the most successful fighter planes of the Second World War. While the initial La-5, which was little more than a late LaGG-3 with a radial engined mounted, was not a great performer, it had excellent potential, and after a redesign that focused on a more powerful engine, airframe lightening, and improved visibility, the La-5F was borne and it was at this point, along with the La-5FN that featured even more refinements, that the Lavochkin began to take control of the skies. The coverage of the La-5 family is well done here, with both development and operations covered. The ultimate wartime Lavochkin was the La-7, which took the already good La-5FN and made it even better. The main improvements over the La-5FN were in aerodynamics, an the La-7 became an incredible performer, so much that the Germans in their Bf 109s were forced to change tactics to try and counter the strengths of the La-7. Flown by several of the top Soviet Union aces, the La-7 proved to be a formidable opponent for the Luftwaffe, with losses of only 115 aircraft out of the over 2000 La-7s delivered to front line units. In addition to the basic development, this book also covers some of the experimental designs attempted, including rocket and ramjet powered examples. The final pages are devoted to the La-9 and La-11 fighter, which marked the end of Lavochkin’s piston-engined fighters. As the war was over and restrictions on materials lessened, these later fighters were mostly metal construction, as opposed to the extensive use of wood as seen in the La-5 series. Another big change was with armament. Four NS-23 cannons were positioned in the nose, resulting in an incredible weight of fire that easily outperformed both the La-7 and the Yakovlev fighters of the time. Included in the text is a description of how the La-9 evolved into the La-11, and the different missions for each type. In addition to Soviet operations, foreign usage is also covered. Like other titles in the Red Star series, this book comes with several pages of scale drawings and color profiles illustrating this long line of fighter aircraft. A small selection of color photos is also included, all of which are of museum aircraft. It would be nice to see some wartime color photos of Soviet La-5s and La-7s, but I am guessing that those photos are very few and far between, if they exist at all. Overall, this is a great book detailing one of the lesser known Soviet fighter families that grew out of the Second World War. Considering how successful the La-5 and La-7 was, it is surprising that we have not seen more on those, but this book makes a good start at ending the Yakovlev dominance in VVS history. My thanks to Specialty Press for the review sample. You can get this, and other Red Star titles, from their website. A shipping and handling charge of $4.95 is applied to each order. | 
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