Lavochkin La-152

Despite its designation, the La-152 bore little more relation to the La-150 than its common design bureau origin. The wing, although similar in planform to that of the earlier fighter, employed a new profile of only 9.1% - the thinnest section adopted up to that time in the Soviet Union - and was lowered to mid position. The RD-10 turbojet was retained, but to avoid the duct losses suffered by the La-150, the power plant was installed in the extreme nose, exhausting beneath a sturdier rear fuselage. The CG position was restored by moving the cockpit aft, and armament comprised three 23mm NS-23 cannon. Work on the La-152 was, in fact, initiated by the Lavochkin bureau within two months of a start being made on the La-150, possibly as a result of latent doubts concerning the efficacy of the configuration of the earlier fighter. Thus, factory flight testing began in October 1946, only a few weeks after the La-150 had entered flight test. Three prototypes were built in parallel, all similarly armed and differing primarily in power plant, the second and third aircraft being designated La-154 and La-156 respectively. The La-154 was to have been fitted with a Lyulka TR-1 turbojet of 1350kg, but was never flown owing to difficulties with this engine. After initial trials with a standard RD-10, the La-156, which had increased tankage and had initially flown in February 1947, was fitted with an RD-10F engine equipped with an afterburner extension boosting thrust by 30%. The RD-10F-equipped La-156 was flown for the first time in September 1947 - the first Soviet aircraft to fly with an afterburning engine - and attained a max speed of 905km/h at 2000m. The flight test programme continued until the end of January 1948.

3-View

A three-view drawing (1640 x 1213)