Lavochkin La-168

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Lavochkin La-168

The Lavochkin La-168 (NATO reporting name - none) was a jet fighter developed for the USSR. It was designed in response to a 1946 request for a new swept-wing jet fighter capable of transonic speeds. As a single seat fighter with swept flight surfaces and an engine behind the pilot, it was similar in appearance to the Mikoyan MiG-15, which was designed to the same specifications. It also shared the cannon-armament and the Rolls-Royce Nene II engine. Unlike the MiG-15, the La-168 had shoulder mounted wings and a t-tail layout. Due to Lavochkin's decision to wait with La-168 development for the Nene II engine, the MiG-15, first flown with the less powerful Nene I, was available four months earlier, giving it a crucial advantage.

The La-168's first flight was on April 22, 1948, with I. E. Fedorov at the controls. Trials continued until February 19, 1949, when testing of the cannons at high altitude caused the canopy to collapse, almost resulting in a fatal crash. In the end, the Lavochkin fighter lost out to the competing MiG-15. It was later developed into several variants, including the production La-15, which despite being well liked and having superior performance, was more expensive and harder to mass produce than the MiG-15. Another La-168 derivative was the La-176, the first Soviet plane to achieve supersonic flight (in a shallow dive) on December 26, 1948.

[edit] Specifications

La-168 (1948)

Length: 9.5 m
Wing span: 10.56 m
Wing area: 18.08 m²
Weight: (empty) 2973 kg (maximum) 4412 kg
Engine: Rolls-Royce Nene II centrifugal flow turbojet with 2270 kgf (22.3 kN) of thrust
Thrust/weight ratio: 0.515
Speed: (maximum, sea level) 1,084 km/h
Rate of climb to 5000 m: 2.0 m
Range: 1275 km
Ceiling: 14,570 m
Armament: Two Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 23 mm cannon and one NL-37 37 mm cannon