RED STAR No 10 LAVOCHKIN'S PISTON-ENGINED FIGHTERS

Describes the establishment and first years of existence of OKB-301, the design bureau created by Lavochkin, Gorbunov and Goodkov, shortly before the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. All of the piston-engined fighters are detailed, from the LaGG-3 to the legendary La-5 and La-7 which gave sterling service during the war. These aircraft were a match for the Bf109 and Fw190 and several pilots were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union, for their exploits. Concluding chapters deal with the La-9 and La-11 which saw combat in China and Korea in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The book relies on many test reports, showing how the Lavochkin compared with British, American and captured German fighters evaluated in the Soviet Union. With 274 black and white photographs, including numerous rare and previously unpublished photographs drawn from Russian military archives, 11 colour photographs, 45 colour side views and four pages of line drawings. The colourful nose art which many aircraft sported is recorded as are Lavochkin fighters in the liveries of Soviet allies and captured aircraft in the colours of Soviet enemies.