Lavochkin La-11

Common card · No. 305050

The Lavochkin La-11 (NATO reporting name Fang) is an early post-World War II Soviet long-range piston-engined fighter aircraft. The design was essentially that of a Lavochkin La-9 with additional fuel tanks and the removal of one of the four 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannons. Like the La-9, the La-11 was designed to be a low to medium-altitude general-purpose fighter, although the additional fuel tanks were added with the intent of employing the La-11 in the escort fighter role. In reality, the La-11 would go on to serve almost exclusively as an interceptor, with the majority of its engagements during the Korean War seeing it pitted against bomber and transport aircraft. While an improvement over earlier aircraft, the La-9 and La-11 retained the poor high-altitude performance that was common among many Soviet piston-engined airframes, with the La-11 enjoying only a 20 km/h (12 mph) advantage over the Boeing B-29 Superfortress at the latter’s cruising altitude. This relatively poor high...

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