Hi! This is a humble request for us Korean War/Cold War Junkies! In our lineup of Korean Era Aircrafts we have a plethora of viable jet aircraft, we have F-51s in DBW, there are various A-26 Invaders floating around, the Yak 9s can carry over straight to the Korean theatre, we have the skyraider AD-4, but it seems we are missing two(one depending on your point of view) VERY imortant soviet designs of the era. The La-9 and the La-11!!!
Research has given the idea that the La-11 is primarily a dedicated Escort varient of the La-9 aircraft, and was developed to provide an escort aircraft for Tu-4 Bulls, in the event of war
with the US. These would have been stationed at secret North pole airbase with the Tu-4s, the only location that allowed the soviet bombers to reach the US. However, though developed as a
long range escort fighter, the La-11 saw use as a non-escort fighter in the airforces of more than one country outside of the Soviet Union, including and in particular North Korea.
For this reason i think it would have a good place among the craft in our Korean War line-up as well as open the door to a few odd Cold War possibilities!
I have struggled over which aircraft to request, but as they are very similar, i have decided to offer the info and specs on BOTH aircraft, so that a modder may decide which is the better
choice. I thought also that seeing the similarities, perhaps both may be done in time, develpoing the La-9 first, and then modifying it to La-11 specs as in real life, by increasing the fuel capasity/range,
changing to larger stronger gear, and removing one cannon... These are just ideas.
As is proper, first, the
La-9Info from Wiki
Specs:
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 8.63 m (28 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 9.80 m (32 ft 2 in)
Height: 3.56 m (11 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 17.6 m² (189 ft²)
Empty weight: 2,638 kg (5,816 lb)
Loaded weight: 3,425 kg (7,551 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 3,676 kg (8,104 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Shvetsov ASh-82FN air-cooled radial engine with a two-stage supercharger and fuel injection, 1,380 kW (1,850 hp)
Performance
Maximum speed: 690 km/h (428 mph) at altitude
Range: 1,735 km (1,077 mi)
Service ceiling: 10,800 m (35,433 ft)
Rate of climb: 17.7 m/s (3,484 ft/min)
Wing loading: 195 kg/m² (40 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.40 kW/kg (0.25 hp/lb)
Armament
4 × 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannons, 75 rpg
The first prototype, designated La-130 was finished in 1946. Similarity to the famous Lavochkin La-7 was only superficial –
the new fighter had all-metal construction and a laminar flow wing. Weight savings due to elimination of wood from the
airframe allowed for greatly improved fuel capacity and four-cannon armament. Mock combat demonstrated that La-130
was evenly matched with La-7 but was inferior to Yakovlev Yak-3 in both horizontal and vertical planes. The new fighter,
officially designated La-9, entered production in August 1946. A total of 1,559 aircraft were built by the end of production in 1948.
Like other aircraft designers at the time, Lavochkin was experimenting with using jet engines to augment performance of piston-engined fighters.
One such attempt was La-130R with an RD-1Kh3 liquid fuel rocket engine in addition to the Shvetsov ASh-82FN piston powerplant.
The project was cancelled in 1946 before the prototype could be assembled. A more unusual approach was La-9RD which was tested in 1947–1948.
It was a production La-9 with a reinforced airframe and armament reduced to two cannons, which carried a single RD-13 pulsejet
(likely of the German V-1 flying bomb origin) under each wing. The 70 km/h (45 mph) increase in top speed came at the expense of tremendous
noise and vibration. The engines were unreliable and worsened the handling. The project was abandoned although between 3 and 9 La-9RD were
reported to perform at airshows, no doubt pleasing the crowds with the noise.
Operators
People's Republic of China, People's Liberation Army Air Force Imported 129 La-9 airplanes in 1950. The last 5 La-9 fighters retired in 1959.
North Korea, North Korea Air Force
Romania, Romanian Air Force (10 delivered in 1950: 5 La-9 and 5 La-9 UTI)
Soviet Union, Soviet Air Force
Soviet Anti-Air Defence
Other notable La-9 variants were:
La-9UTI – two-seat trainer version. Built at GAZ-99 in Ulan-Ude. Two versions exist: with 12.7 mm UBS machine gun and with one 23 mm NS-23 cannon.
La-132 (La-132) – prototype with upgraded Shvetsov M-93 engine. Projected top speed 740 km/h (460 mph) at 6,500 m (21,325 ft). Engine proved a failure and the single prototype was equipped with an experimental Shvetsov ASh-82M instead. The aircraft did not proceed to production.
La-9RD – one La-9 was fitted with two underwing RD-13 auxiliary pulsejet engines.
La-138 – one La-9 was fitted with two underwing PVRD-450 auxiliary ramjet engines.
(I [Fresco23] removed La-9M/La-11 entry from this list for the sake of redundancy, as actual production aircraft of this veriaty were designated La-11 not La-9M.......) Now for the
La-11Specs:
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 8.62 m (28 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 9.80 m (32 ft 2 in)
Height: 3.47 m (11 ft 5 in)
Wing area: 17.6 m² (189 ft²)
Empty weight: 2,770 kg (6,107 lb)
Loaded weight: 3,730 kg (8,223 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 3,996 kg (8,810 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Shvetsov ASh-82FN air-cooled radial engine with a two-stage supercharger and fuel injection, 1,380 kW (1,850 hp)
Performance
Maximum speed: 674 km/h (419 mph) at altitude
Range: 2,235 km (1,388 mi)
Service ceiling: 10,250 m (33,628 ft)
Rate of climb: 758 m/min (2,487 ft/min)
Wing loading: 212 kg/m² (44 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.37 kW/kg (0.23 hp/lb)
Armament
3 × 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannons, 75 rounds/gun
One of the recommendations from the government testing of Lavochkin La-130 (Lavochkin La-9 prototype) was to further develop it into a long-range escort fighter.
The resultant La-134 prototype (also sometimes referred to as La-9M) featured increased fuel and oil capacity. Armament was reduced to three cannons.The prototype flew
in May 1947. The second prototype, La-134D had fuel capacity increased by an additional 275 l (73 US gal) with wing and external fuel tanks. The aircraft was fitted with
larger tires to accommodate the increased weight and amenities for long flights such as increased padding in the seat, armrests, and a urinal. In addition, a full radio
navigation suite was installed. Not surprisingly, combat performance with a full fuel load suffered. However, as the fuel load approached that of La-9, so did the performance.
The aircraft was found to be poorly suited for combat above 7,000 m (23,000 ft). The new fighter, designated La-11 entered production in 1947. By the end of production in
1951, a total of 1,182 aircraft were built.
NOTICE THE ADDITION OF WINGTIP TANKS ON SOME AIRCRAFT BELOW
Operators:
Soviet Union, Soviet Air Force
Soviet Anti-Air Defence
People's Republic of China, People's Liberation Army Air Force - Imported 163 La-11 fighters from 1950-1953. The last 18 La-11 airplanes retired in 1966.
North Korea, North Korean Air Force
Indonesia, Indonesian Air Force
So.... there is my very humble request for the Lavochkin fighters of the Cold War and Korean Era!
I would be delighted to see these beautys in our Sim.
I believe they hold an important enough place in history to deserve better that using La-7s as stand-in forever. LOL
If a modder decides to give these a go i would be greatful! And i would be willing to help in any possible way if i am able.
I looked through the request pages and didnt see this in there so i hope this request is in order! If not please let me know and i will gladly alter it as needed
or remove it if it is irrelevant!
Thanks for all the TONS AND TONS of work you modders do for us and thanks for your time and energy devoted to our Sim!
Humble thanks and gratitude,
Fresco
Author
Topic: La-9/La-11 for Korean War (Read 9617 times)
