The La-7 is a Soviet single-engine piston fighter designed by Semyon Lavochkin and mass-produced during the Second World War. One of the best Soviet fighters of 1944–1945, it was built, among other places, at Gorky Aircraft Plant No. 21 (the "Sokol" plant), and an example bearing the inscription "To the Motherland from the people of Gorky" now stands as a monument in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin.[2]

Design and specifications

The aircraft has a classic layout: a monoplane with retractable landing gear. The powerplant is the Shvetsov ASh-82FN engine: a 14-cylinder, two-row, air-cooled radial with a two-speed supercharger and direct fuel injection, delivering a takeoff power of about 1,850 hp for five minutes, 1,650 hp at an altitude of about 1,630 m, and 1,430 hp at about 4,650 m; it drove a three-blade variable-pitch VISh-105V propeller 3,100 mm in diameter.[1] Empty weight is 2,625 kg, takeoff weight 3,293 kg. Wingspan is 9.8 m, length 8.67 m, height 2.54 m, and wing area 17.59 m².[1] Maximum speed reached 648 km/h, service ceiling was 10,800 m, and range was 675 km.[1] The armament of the base machine included cannons; the La-7UTI trainer variant carried a single fixed 20-mm ShVAK cannon.[1]

Production in Gorky and the La-7UTI trainer variant

The La-7UTI trainer variant (UTI standing for uchebno-trenirovochny istrebitel, "training fighter") was created by converting a production La-7, serial number 45211521, in March 1945 directly at the Gorky Aircraft Plant No. 21 named after Ordzhonikidze.[1] The aim of the project was to prepare a two-seat "sparka" for flight schools, giving cadets a fuller piloting experience than the earlier La-5UTI. In August 1945 the prototype was sent to the Air Force Scientific Research Institute (NII VVS) for state trials, which concluded on August 16, 1945. The trials revealed a number of shortcomings: a shifted center of gravity worsened flight performance, cockpit temperature rose excessively, and the instrumentation was judged inadequate.[1] Series production of the La-7UTI continued at Plant No. 21 from March 1945 to 1946; 250 aircraft of this variant were built.[1] The crew of the trainer version was two people (an instructor pilot and a cadet).[1]

Monument in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin

One of the surviving La-7 aircraft, bearing tail number "17", is installed as a monument to aviation technology on the grounds of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin at Kremlin, 7A.[2][4] The aircraft's side bears the inscription "To the Motherland from the people of Gorky!", reflecting the contribution of the workers at the Gorky aircraft plant to the production of these fighters during the war years.[2] The monument is open to visitors daily.[4]

Sources

  1. Vremya N — Employees of the Sokol Plant Restored the Aircraft in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin
  2. V gorode N — The Restored Monument to Two Hero Pilots Has Been Returned to the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin
  3. posmotretnn.ru — La-7 Fighter at the Military Equipment Exhibition in the Kremlin
  4. russianplanes.net — Photo of Lavochkin La-7 aircraft No. 17 (serial no. NeizvZav7-17b-NNovgorod) Russia (USSR) — Air Force ✈ russianplanes.net ✈ our aviation
  5. russpass.ru — "Gorky Residents to the Front" Memorial, Nizhny Novgorod — address, opening hours, schedule, and reviews on RUSSPASS