File updated on September 23, 2004
image from Red Stars n.1
These images represents a LaGG-3 of the 3 Gv.IAP of Red Banner Baltic
Fleet during the winter of 1942/43, east of Lake Ladoga.
It was flown by Kapitan Semen Ivanovich Lvov. He was a veteran of the
fights against Japanese near Lake Khasan in 1938 and of Winter War against
Finland.
He was with this unit till the war outbreak, defending the "way of
life" on the frozen Lake Ladoga by which the besieged city of Leningrad
was refurbished. In 1942 he was made commander of an eskadrilla. By february
1943 he had obtained 6 individual and 22 shared victories during 98 engagements.
He was made Hero of the Soviet Union on July 24, 1943, then he was
posed away from the fighting till August 1945, when he took part to the
operations against Japanese again.
The aircraft was probably of 35th series of 1942, and its characteristics
are:
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rounded prop spinner;
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triple exhaust stacks;
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1 ShVAK 20 mm firing through the propeller shaft;
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1 12,7 UB machine gun guns on the left side of the engine cowling, and
relative holes on the left side of the cowling;
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engine cowling with fast lock and merged intake profile;
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engine side cowling panels divided by a vertical line under exhaust stacks
front;
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no side plates behind the exhaust stacks;
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vertical slots in front of the windscreen;
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rectangular supercharger intakes;
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long radio mast;
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angled rudder hinging line;
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modified elevators with modified hinge line and wider trimmers;
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wider water cooler inlet;
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water cooler outlet on the fuselage without any step;
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retractable tail wheel with bulged doors;
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wing slats, pitot on the lower wing surface.
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This aircraft is characterized by:
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MK-7 white distemper over a temperate scheme;
-
a typical 1942 camo scheme was hypothized, with AMT-4 green, AMT-6 black
and AMT-7 light blue;
-
red stars on 6 positions; the ones on the rudder are covered by white paint
on the rudder;
-
small serial number over the rudder stars, visible within a stipe not repainted
with white distemper;
-
red 30 painted on the sides, perhaps repainted over a previous white 30;
-
probably black prop blades.
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