Lavochkin La-168
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The Lavochkin La-168 (NATO reporting name unknown, if any) was a jet fighter developed for the USSR. It was designed in response to a 1946 request for a new swept-wing jet fighter capable of transonic speeds. As a single seat fighter with swept flight surfaces and an engine behind the pilot, it was similar in appearance to the Mikoyan MiG-15, which was designed to the same specifications. It also shared the cannon-armament and the Rolls-Royce Nene engine. Unlike the MiG-15, the La-168 had shoulder mounted wings and a t-tail layout.
The La-168's first flight was on April 22, 1948, with I. E. Fedorov at the controls. Trials continued until February 19, 1949, when testing of the cannons at high altitude caused the canopy to collapse, almost resulting in a fatal crash. In the end, the Lavochkin fighter lost out to the competing MiG-15. It was later developed into several variants, including the production La-15, which despite being well liked and having superior performance, was more expensive and harder to mass produce than the MiG-15. Another La-168 derivative was the La-176, the first Soviet plane to achieve supersonic flight (in a shallow dive) on December 26, 1948.
Specifications
La-168 (1948)- Length: 9.5 m
- Wing span: 10.56 m
- Wing area: 18.08 m²
- Weight: (empty) 2973 kg (maximum) 4412 kg
- Engine: Rolls-Royce Nene centrifugal flow turbojet with 2270 kgf (22.3 kN) of thrust
- Thrust/weight ratio: 0.515
- Speed: (maximum, sea level) 1,000 km/h
- Rate of climb to 5000 m: 2.0 m
- Range: 1275 km
- Ceiling: 14,570 m
- Armament: Two Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 23 mm cannon and one NL-37 37 mm cannon
External links
- [La-168] at the [Russian Aviation Museum]
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