Eskadrilya Valeriy Chkalov 
La-5 n.22 (?)
By Massimo Tessitori
File updated on October 28, 2004
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These images represent the delivery of an aircraft to an operative unit (31 IAP? 131 IAP?) in presence of a delegation of the Collective farm of Pavlovskiy district, Gorky region.

The number of the aircraft is only partially visible; it surely starts with a red 2. 
The real number is unknown, only hypothesis can be done.
Looking at the numbers of all the known aircrafts with such inscription (20, 20 again, 33, 33 again,  40, 55, 60, 62, 66, 68, 75, 80, 84, 88, 99) we see that multiple of 11 are unusually frequent (6 over 14 aircrafts) an multiple of 10 too (5 over 14).
This could be a coincidence, but it could be not so. Maybe the person that did choose the aircrafts to sponsor or to paint had preference for some numbers.
So, the most likely numbers seem to be 22 (never seen yet) and 20 (but two 20 are already known, I would be surprised if there were more).
On this basis, red 22 was assumed as the code number of this aircraft.

 


 
Although the nose is not visible, it was supposed to be winter camouflaged with black spinner, as on other aircrafts visible on the background, on the same images.
The inscription was transparent red on white background (it appears lighter than the star color), and transparent white on the red background (it should appear as different shades of pink, see here).
On the right side, the inscription was probably "Ot Kolkhoznikov i kolkhoznits Gorkovskoy oblasti" , made with the same colors and methods.
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