Lavochkin La-168
| Lavochkin La-168 / La-174 | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Experimental fighter plane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
April 22, 1948 |
| Production time: |
1948 |
| Number of pieces: |
2 |
.svg){kind=small}
The Lavochkin La-168 ( Russian Лавочкин Ла-168 , NATO code name "Type 15") is a Soviet experimental fighter from the second half of the 1940s. It is considered one of the forerunners of the mass-produced La-15 jet fighter .
development
It was developed from experience with the first Soviet arrow wing fighter La-160 . However, it was the first time that the designer Semyon Lavochkin abandoned the idea of placing the jet turbine in the bow. Since the engine was in the stern, the tail unit carrier that had been so characteristic of Lavochkin's designs until then was no longer available. The pilot's cockpit, which was equipped with an ejection seat and a pressurized cabin, could therefore also be placed far forward.
The La-168 was designed as a self-supporting shoulder -wing aircraft in all-metal half-shell construction. During maintenance work on the engine it was possible to pull off the entire rear fuselage area so that optimal access was possible. There were two hydraulically deployable air brakes at the stern . The wing, swept by 37 °, had two spars and had two boundary layer fences on each side . The four tanks located in the fuselage could hold 1430 liters of fuel, to increase the range it was possible to attach a 610 liter additional tank under the fuselage. A replica of the British Rolls-Royce Nene II engine, the RD-45F , was chosen as the drive . RD is the Russian abbreviation for Reaktiwny Dwigatel (Реактйвный двигатель), jet engine.
The flight tests began on April 22, 1948 by Ivan Evgrafowitsch Fyodorov. A maximum speed of Mach 0.982 was reached in its course. In October of the same year, the La-168 passed state approval. There was no series production in favor of the MiG-15 . However, the pattern together with the second, almost identical prototype La-174 formed the starting model for the La-15. The La-174 differed from the La-168 by the Rolls-Royce Derwent engine used, as well as a slightly enlarged wingspan and an enlarged horizontal stabilizer, as well as a resulting higher weight. Even so, the La-174 performed better than the La-168.
A successor model was the La-176 , which had some changes to the fuselage. With this type, Mach 1 could be achieved for the first time in the USSR on December 26, 1948 in orbit flight.
The designation 168 only refers to the work number. The second prototype La-174 is not to be confused with the La-174TK , a further development of the La-150M .
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| length | 10.56 m |
| Wingspan | 9.50 m |
| height | 3.35 m |
| Wing area | 18.08 m² |
| Engine | a Nene II (RD-45F) |
| power | 22 kN |
| Top speed | 1,084 km / h at an altitude of 2,750 m |
| Rise time | 2.0 min at an altitude of 5,000 m |
| Service ceiling | 14,570 m |
| Range | 1,275 km |
| Empty mass | 2,973 kg |
| Flight mass | 4,410 kg |
| crew | 1 |
| Armament | two 23 mm MK NR-23 (100 shells each) one 37 mm MK N-37 (45 shells) |