La-7s of 156 iap, 215 iad
by Massimo Tessitori
Updated on February 22, 2017
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  156 iap was the second unit to convert to the La-7, after I-16, LaGG-3 and La-5FN. After the conversion, the regiment was held in reserve, then sent again in combat in June 1944.

93 of S.F. Dolgushin

This famous photo shows the La-7 of the commander of 156 IAP, the Hero of the Soviet Union Lieutenant Colonel S.F.Dolgushin. The image was shot on the Aerodrome Klyutsov on 25 April 1945.

From left to right we see:

  • aircraft mechanic foreman Kisliakof AE Engineer Regiment,
  • Major Bayukov VD;
  • Lieutenant-Colonel S.F. Dolgushin ;
  • Chief of Staff Lieutenant-Colonel AE Kleshchev:
  • technician level management Shchipanov AV .

Dolgushin had flown plane 93 since September 1944. He obtained 8 victories on La-7, ending the war with 17 individual and 11 shared kills.

The plane was very personalized: it was fitted with the most powerful engine available in the unit, on the base of bench tests; besides, all the original paint was removed, and the plane was reprimed, repainted and polished.

So the upper surfaces were not camouflaged in two greys (AMT-11 and 12), but were uniformly painted in AMT-11 only.

The number 93 had non standard fonts, and was without the tiny blue outline made in factory on all La-7s.

The most prominent characteristic is the tail painted in white with red cap and two red bands of equal thickness; on the photo, part of the lower band is hidden by the elevator in up position; the elevator itself looks in uniform white color, resulting nearly unvisible on the white background of the rudder.

Red engine cowling and spinner were introduced by Lieutenant-General A.S. Osipenko in July 1944 before the Bobruisk Operation as the recognition marks of the Air Corps. At the same time, three horizontal red stripes alternated to three white stripes were approved as distinctive of 156 iap. .

The plane features also an HSU star painted on the nose (not visible on the photo), victory starlets, a "yellow cyrillic E on the fin as the first letter of the regiment's honor name "Elbingskiy", related to the town of Elbing in East Prussia, now Elblong in Poland". According to what can be seen on the photo, this letter should be painted specular to a Latin E, with the right leg straight (not as a 3 or a reversed C). On the top of the rudder, the factory emblem is visible in a white circle.
Stencils on the machine were not restored, on the right side there was only white number "93". The belts tightening the engine cowling were in unpainted steel.

http://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/board/index.php?topic=2079.msg17217#msg17217

http://www.telenir.net/transport_i_aviacija/mir_aviacii_1992_01/p7.php

49 of Zelenkin

 

 

Here are two photos of plane n.49 of sr.lieutnant Mikail M. Zelenkin (or Zelyonkin) in spring 1945. He was the most successful pilot of the unit.

On the photo above, the man standing in front of the plane is Sergeant Hanin, mechanic of Zelyonkin's plane.

The photo above shows the pilot (right) describing a combat to other people.

The images come from the link below, with an article on him and scans of the magazine 'Aviacia i Vremia' n. 6-2011

http://www.soviet-aces-1936-53.ru/abc/zh/zelynkin.htm

The plane is only partially visible; it looks that it had the standard grey/grey camouflage, victory starlets (red starlets could stand for individual victories, while white ones stand for shared victories.

At the end of the war he had reached 22 individual + 10 shared victories and one balloon. (other sources say 28+4 ).

The bort numbers seem repainted,without the factory blue outline.

Although not visible on the photos, we can guess that it had the red nose and the white-red tail characteristic of 156 IAP.

A reconstruction of plane 49 of Zelyonkin.

57 of Shibanov

 

On the same article linked above, there are a photo and a profile of the pilot of the 1st squadron of 156 IAP lt. Shibanov.

The photo shows the plane with standard grey/grey camouflage, early aerial wiring.

The nose has to be red, but we see a sort of serpentine, probably some retouches made with a darker shade of red; or perhaps, an overspraying with grey to reduce the evidence of the red nose.

Again, the photo seems to show the bort numbers without the factory blue outline.

http://www.soviet-aces-1936-53.ru/abc/zh/zelynkin.htm

A color profile of the plane of Shibanov. The strange retough on the engine cowling was ignored.

Trusov

 

Two photos of Sr. Leutenant Trusov of 156 iap, 1944.

A point of interest of the photos is the personal emblem of the eagle on the side of the cowling, just above the factory mark 'La7'.

Another strange thing, common to the plane 57 of Shibalov, is the strange dark serpentine painted on the nose, probably due to retouches with a different shade of red or to an overspraying with grey to reduce the excessive evidence of the nose.

Unfortunately, we don't know the bort number of this plane.