La-5 Red 18 and Silver 10 of 159 IAP

La-5 Red 18 and Silver 10 of 159 IAP
by Massimo Tessitori

Updated on May 15, 2019

This photo shows two aces of 159 IAP on the Leningrad front: capt. P.Y. Likholetov and Sr. Lt. V.A. Zotov.

Them both were made HSU on February 4 1944.

Likholetov obtained 25 individual + 5 shared victories, while Zotov obtained 28 personal victories.

Probably the photo is of the fall 1943.

On the background we see two La-5s, but it is difficult to say if they were the personal monts of these aces.

A closer detail of the planes shows some characteristics:

them both had black-green camouflage, probably retouched or fully repainted, differing in some details;

them both lacked of the star on the fuselage;

them both had numbers made with angular fonts that were not made in factory, but were similar to the fonts of other known planes of the same unit; go to grey 26

plane 18 had a white rudder (looks darker only due to the angulation);

the star on the tail, that is of the type introduced in August 1943;

a comparison to photos of other planes of the same unit suggests that it had a white painted spinner;

plane 18 had a number that could be painted red; plane 10 had a number of a lighter shade (unclear if silver, light blue or what else) aligned to the ground and a bit more backwards than plane 18;

plane 18 had the exhaust plates freshly painted black, while plane 10 had lost the paint from these steel surfaces, as usual for La-5s;

plane 18 had a logo on the cowling suggesting that it had a M-82F engine, while plane 10 hadn't any logo and was powered by a M-82.

Left: a reconstruction of the look of plane red 18.

A reconstruction of plane 10.

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	This photo shows two aces of 159 IAP on the Leningrad front: capt. P.Y. Likholetov and Sr. Lt. V.A. Zotov. Them both were made HSU on February 4 1944. Likholetov obtained 25 individual + 5 shared victories, while Zotov obtained 28 personal victories. Probably the photo is of the fall 1943. On the background we see two La-5s, but it is difficult to say if they were the personal monts of these aces.
	A closer detail of the planes shows some characteristics: them both had black-green camouflage, probably retouched or fully repainted, differing in some details; them both lacked of the star on the fuselage; them both had numbers made with angular fonts that were not made in factory, but were similar to the fonts of other known planes of the same unit; go to grey 26 plane 18 had a white rudder (looks darker only due to the angulation); the star on the tail, that is of the type introduced in August 1943; a comparison to photos of other planes of the same unit suggests that it had a white painted spinner; plane 18 had a number that could be painted red; plane 10 had a number of a lighter shade (unclear if silver, light blue or what else) aligned to the ground and a bit more backwards than plane 18; plane 18 had the exhaust plates freshly painted black, while plane 10 had lost the paint from these steel surfaces, as usual for La-5s; plane 18 had a logo on the cowling suggesting that it had a M-82F engine, while plane 10 hadn't any logo and was powered by a M-82.
	Left: a reconstruction of the look of plane red 18.
	A reconstruction of plane 10.