Lavochkin La-7
The Lavochkin La-7 (Russian: Лавочкин Ла-7; NATO reporting name: Fin) was a piston-engined single-seat Soviet fighter aircraft developed during World War II by the Lavochkin Design Bureau. It was a development and refinement of the Lavochkin La-5, and the last in a family of aircraft that had begun with the LaGG-1 in 1938. Its first flight was in early 1944 and it entered service with the Soviet Air Forces later in the year. A small batch of La-7s was given to the Czechoslovak Air Force the following year, but it was otherwise not exported. Armed with two or three 20 mm (0.8 in) cannon, it had a top speed of 661 kilometers per hour (411 mph). The La-7 was felt by its pilots to be at least the equal of any German piston-engined fighter. It was phased out in 1947 by the Soviet Air Force, but served until 1950 with the Czechoslovak Air Force.
| La-7 | |
|---|---|
| La-7 in the Central Air Force Museum, Monino, Russia | |
| Role | Fighter |
| National origin | Soviet Union |
| Design group | S.A. Lavochkin Design Bureau |
| Built by | Plant No.21 (Gorky), Plant No.381 (Moscow), Plant No.99 (Ulan-Ude) |
| First flight | 1 February 1944 (La-5 mod. 1944) |
| Introduction | June 1944 |
| Retired | 1952 (Soviet Air Forces) |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary users | Soviet Air Forces Czechoslovak Air Force |
| Produced | May 1944 - August 1946 |
| Number built | 5,753 (+ 582 trainers) |
| Developed from | Lavochkin La-5 |
| Variants | Lavochkin La-9 |