| Technical data | |
|---|---|
| Type | La-15 |
| Function | Fighter |
| Year | 1948 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Engines | 1*1590kg RD-500 |
| Length | 9.56m |
| Wingspan | 8.83m |
| Wing area | 16.16m2 |
| Empty weight | 2575kg |
| Loaded weight | 3850kg |
| Wing Load (kg/m2) | 238 |
| Thrust to Weight |
0.41 |
| Speed at 0m | 900km/h |
| Speed at 3000m | 1026km/h |
| Takeoff Roll | 640m |
| Landing Roll | 630m |
| Range | 1170km |
| Flight Endurance | 2h6min |
| Ceiling | 13500m |
| Climb | |
| 5000m | 3.1min |
| Armament | |
| Guns | 3*23mm cannons NS-23 |
La-15 'Fantail' by S.A.Lavochkin
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Small swept-wing jet fighter, production version of the La-174D with RD-500 engine. Weight increased by 142kg compared with the prototype, and flight performance slightly suffered. But this deterioration did not affect outcome of trials.
Pilots loved La-15 for easy handling and reliability. Pressurized cockpit allowed to increase ceiling against other contemporary fighters.
Production version normally was used without external tank. Flight endurance was only 40-50min, but performance was better than with the tank. Ceiling was up to 14800m.
 |
La-15 and its trainer version La-15UTI ('180') were first Soviet jet fighters with full-hydraulic flight control system, including automatic controls load system (Zhuravchenko).
Mass manufacturing was under preparation (A.K.Belenkov), but never started. Reason was in large number of complicated tooling of the airframe. Despite superiority of the La-15, more technological MiG-15 was preferred.
About 500 were built. They were in service until 1954.
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La-15 with underbelly tank, drawing by I.G.Soultanov from "History of aircraft construction in the USSR", Vol.2 p.352 |
| Predecessors | Modifications |
|---|---|
| La-174D |
 La-15UTI '180' |
| References | Links |
|---|---|
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