Book Review of
Lavochkin La-7
Author: Dariusz Paduch
Kagero Monographs
English Version No. 3088
ISBN: 978-83-67294-06-8
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $29.95
English Version No. 3088
ISBN: 978-83-67294-06-8
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $29.95
HISTORY:
The Lavochkin La-7 (Russian: Лавочкин Ла-7) 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.
SPECIFICATIONS: (1945 production model)
Lavochkin La-7
Data from Soviet Airpower in World War 2[19]
Crew: 1
Length: 8.6 m (28 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 9.8 m (32 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.54 m (8 ft 4 in)
Wing area: 17.59 m2 (189.3 sq ft)
Empty weight: 2,638 kg (5,816 lb)
Gross weight: 3,315 kg (7,308 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Shvetsov ASh-82FN 14-cylinder, two-row, air-cooled radial, 1,380 kW (1,850 hp)
Propellers: 3-bladed VISh-105V-4
Maximum speed: 661 km/h (411 mph, 357 kn) at 6,000 m (19,685 ft)
Range: 665 km (413 mi, 359 nmi) (1944 model)
Service ceiling: 10,450 m (34,280 ft)
Rate of climb: 15.7 m/s (3,095 ft/min)
Time to altitude: 5.3 minutes to 5,000 m (16,404 ft)
Wing loading: 188 kg/m2 (38.6 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.41 kW/kg (.25 hp/lb)
Armament
Guns: 2 × cowl-mounted 20 mm ShVAK cannons with 200 rounds per gun or 3 × cowl-mounted 20 mm Berezin B-20 cannons with 100 rounds per gun
Bombs: 200 kg (440 lb) of bombs
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland. They do their books in both English and Polish. This book is all in English.
The cover art shows a La-7, flying above the clouds. It has just shot down a Me-109, that is in flames. It is in a wave pattern camouflage of two shades of grey over a light grey undercarriage. It has a yellow prop spinner, red cowling, two narrow white fuselage bands around its nose, with an illustration of a white circle with a black eagle that is reaching for a fighter. It has a long red arrow down the sides of its fuselage, with the Soviet AF red star, outlined in white and a large number 24 over the arrow. Soviet AF red star on the rudder.
This La-7 was of the 9th GIAP, flown by Maj. Amet Khan Sultan, East Prussia. By the end of the war, this pilot achieved 30 individual and 19 team victories. The yellow prop spinner indicates the 9th GIAP, 3rd Squadron, and the eagle in the circle is the squadron insignia.
This illustration is also repeated as a color side view profile on the back cover of the book, along with another side view profile of a La-7, that is also in the same wave pattern colors. It has a black prop spinner, red cowling with a triangle behind it, two narrow white fuselage bands around the nose, 69 small white-star victory marks under the cockpit, behind 2 red and yellow medals on a yellow rope. Large red Soviet AF star, outlined in white on the fuselage sides, followed by a large white number 27. The rudder has a diagonal white top half and another Soviet AF star on it.
It was a La-7 of the 176th GIAP, personal plane of Maj. Ivan N. Kozhedub, which he flew to the end of the war. He achieved 64 victories. There are only 62 of the stars indicating his victories, because the last 2 stars had not been confirmed yet.
The book contains 80 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
There are 6 black and white photos of the La-5, photos of pilots and engineers, 72 of the La-7, along with photos and line drawings of every inch of its anatomy.
The color profile section and back cover shows 10 color side profile illustrations of the La-7. The first page of the book shows 2 black and white side-profile of it.
The title page of the book has 89 small black and white book cover photos on it of over books that Kagero publishes.
This is a neat book on this aircraft. It will be of great interest to modelers planning on building a La-7 and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. They are the N. American distributor of Kagero books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
The Lavochkin La-7 (Russian: Лавочкин Ла-7) 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.
SPECIFICATIONS: (1945 production model)
Lavochkin La-7
Data from Soviet Airpower in World War 2[19]
Crew: 1
Length: 8.6 m (28 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 9.8 m (32 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.54 m (8 ft 4 in)
Wing area: 17.59 m2 (189.3 sq ft)
Empty weight: 2,638 kg (5,816 lb)
Gross weight: 3,315 kg (7,308 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Shvetsov ASh-82FN 14-cylinder, two-row, air-cooled radial, 1,380 kW (1,850 hp)
Propellers: 3-bladed VISh-105V-4
Maximum speed: 661 km/h (411 mph, 357 kn) at 6,000 m (19,685 ft)
Range: 665 km (413 mi, 359 nmi) (1944 model)
Service ceiling: 10,450 m (34,280 ft)
Rate of climb: 15.7 m/s (3,095 ft/min)
Time to altitude: 5.3 minutes to 5,000 m (16,404 ft)
Wing loading: 188 kg/m2 (38.6 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.41 kW/kg (.25 hp/lb)
Armament
Guns: 2 × cowl-mounted 20 mm ShVAK cannons with 200 rounds per gun or 3 × cowl-mounted 20 mm Berezin B-20 cannons with 100 rounds per gun
Bombs: 200 kg (440 lb) of bombs
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland. They do their books in both English and Polish. This book is all in English.
The cover art shows a La-7, flying above the clouds. It has just shot down a Me-109, that is in flames. It is in a wave pattern camouflage of two shades of grey over a light grey undercarriage. It has a yellow prop spinner, red cowling, two narrow white fuselage bands around its nose, with an illustration of a white circle with a black eagle that is reaching for a fighter. It has a long red arrow down the sides of its fuselage, with the Soviet AF red star, outlined in white and a large number 24 over the arrow. Soviet AF red star on the rudder.
This La-7 was of the 9th GIAP, flown by Maj. Amet Khan Sultan, East Prussia. By the end of the war, this pilot achieved 30 individual and 19 team victories. The yellow prop spinner indicates the 9th GIAP, 3rd Squadron, and the eagle in the circle is the squadron insignia.
This illustration is also repeated as a color side view profile on the back cover of the book, along with another side view profile of a La-7, that is also in the same wave pattern colors. It has a black prop spinner, red cowling with a triangle behind it, two narrow white fuselage bands around the nose, 69 small white-star victory marks under the cockpit, behind 2 red and yellow medals on a yellow rope. Large red Soviet AF star, outlined in white on the fuselage sides, followed by a large white number 27. The rudder has a diagonal white top half and another Soviet AF star on it.
It was a La-7 of the 176th GIAP, personal plane of Maj. Ivan N. Kozhedub, which he flew to the end of the war. He achieved 64 victories. There are only 62 of the stars indicating his victories, because the last 2 stars had not been confirmed yet.
The book contains 80 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
There are 6 black and white photos of the La-5, photos of pilots and engineers, 72 of the La-7, along with photos and line drawings of every inch of its anatomy.
The color profile section and back cover shows 10 color side profile illustrations of the La-7. The first page of the book shows 2 black and white side-profile of it.
The title page of the book has 89 small black and white book cover photos on it of over books that Kagero publishes.
This is a neat book on this aircraft. It will be of great interest to modelers planning on building a La-7 and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. They are the N. American distributor of Kagero books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.