07417 Hasegawa 1/48 Lavochkin LaGG-3 "Japanese Army" Limited Edition Aircraft

Additional Information

This fighter was developed under the leadership of the triumvirate of designers: S. A. Lavochkin. V. P. Gor6unova and M. I. Gudkova. Its prototype, called the I-301, was tested in March 1940, i.e. shortly after the I-26 by A. S. Yakovlev.
the Distinctive feature of design I-301 was broad application of this new material then, as deletedrevision (plasticized wood having high strength). Metal was used only where it was simply impossible to do without it (steel monorama, motor hoods made of duralumin alloys). This approach to design was forced. The point was that the possibilities of non-ferrous metallurgy could not keep up with the sharply increased needs of aircraft construction in the prewar years, the only way to establish a mass production of new combat aircraft in these conditions was to use wood. It is more or less used in the design and other aircraft, in particular, the Yak-1 and MiG-Z. a And-301 most fully embodied the idea of an all-wood machine, which was considered its great advantage. Another distinctive feature of the I-301 was an unusually powerful weapon - a gun 23 mm and two synchronous large-caliber machine gun BS, in addition to which could be installed two more ShKAS.
the I-301 was generally successful. However, before the serial production was extended an additional requirement to increase the flight range up to 1000 km. Designers had to install additional tanks, though then it was already clear that with such fuel the plane will be too heavy.
the First production aircraft to receive the LaGG-Z brand began to go off the Assembly line in 1941. Just as the Yak-1 and MiG-Z, this fighter in the first period of the war became one of the main aircraft of the new generation of the Soviet air force.