- Yes
- No
TL;DR:
Jet fighter, early Soviet jet faster and more heavily armed than the Yak-17.
Overview:
The second jet project of Lavochkin, the La-152 (“product 152”) was heavily redesigned from its preceding La-150, greatly shortening the tail boom, moving the engine forward, and adopting a mid-wing arrangement, which ended up making the plane look similar to Yakovlev’s Yak-17. Other major changes include a larger cockpit, self-sealing fuel tanks, and a new airfoil design. These changes made the La-152 much simpler to maintain and operate, the forward mounted engine minimizing thrust loss and the larger cockpit much more comfortable. It was armed with three 23mm autocannons, though with small magazines of only 50 rounds per gun, less than even the Yak-15, which were mounted quite far from the engine intake to prevent the flameout issues encountered in other jets. The La-152 had the same 900kgf RD-10 engine as the La-150 and other Soviet jets, but it was also designed to be able to upgrade its engine, being able to fit the 1250kgf TR-1 turbojet. The project for the variant with the TR-1 was called the La-154, though that was abandoned after delays and poor performance of the TR-1.
The prototype was completed in October 1946, with factory flight tests showing poor elevator control at low speeds, which was resolved in April 1947 after modifications. Because it was larger and heavier than the La-150, it had slightly worse performance, being 38km/h slower, but this was considered an acceptable trade-off for the maintenance and operational advantages. Factory tests were completed in June, and state tests began in July. However, during its 8th flight, the engine failed and the plane crash landed. The La-152 was abandoned after that as its successor the La-156 had been completed, which featured an improved afterburning engine.
Specifications:
Weight:
Empty: 2310kg
Take-off: 3239kgDimensions:
Length: 9.12m
Wing Span: 8.2m
Wing Area: 12.15m²
Height: ~2.65mEngine:
1x Klimov RD-10 turbojet engine
900 kgf thrust
Max Fuel: 620kgPerformance:
Max Speed:
840km/h at sea level (projected)
830km/h at 3000m
840km/h at 5000m
Ceiling: 12 500m
Range: 495km
Rate of Climb: 1042m/minCrew: 1
Armament:
3x1 23mm NS-23 (50 rpg)Armour:
55mm bulletproof glass windscreen
8mm steel front plate
8mm steel armoured seat
Images:
Sources:
Gordon, Y. (2002). Early Soviet Jet Fighters (pp. 109-112). Midland.
Nemecek, V. (1986). The History of Soviet Aircraft from 1918 (pp. 84, 410-411). Collins Willow.
Shavrov, V. B. (2002). Istoriya Konstruktsiy Samoletov v SSSR 1938-1950 gg. (p. 349). Mashinostroenie.
https://www.airwar.ru/enc/fighter/la152.html