White-04

Airplane artAirplane profile
Written By Anton Petrov

Lavochkin, La-5FN (Early)

Series-01 La-5FN. Test airplane. NII VVS, Moscow, circa May, 1943.

 

The standard, serial production La-5FNs, differed from their prototype in a number of ways. One of the main differences was that the La-5FN prototype( dubbed ‘Dubler’ ) included duralumin wing spars, but due to the lack of duralumin in USSR in 1942-43, the serial production machines had to replace these for wooden wing spars which made the planes heavier thus reducing their performance characteristics. Partly because of this, the first serial production samples of La-5FN had to pass further tests, so in May 1943, one of the ‘series-01’ La-5FNs was submitted to the NII VVS [1] for various state tests. This machine was an airplane with the serial number 39210104, known to us as ‘WHITE-04’.

’White-04’ incorporated the same modifications as the latest La-5F airplanes. In addition to these, the surface area of the elevators was increased, while the total angle of their turn was decreased from 55 degrees to 44 degrees. Pneumatic control of fire was replaced with electro-pneumatic. The shutters in front of the engine were taken off, and a number of other, smaller modifications were incorporated into the model. But of course, the main improvement over the previous models was the FN engine. ‘F’ stands for ‘forced/boosted’, ‘N’ stands for ‘Neposredstvenniy’ which refers to the direct fuel injection system of this new, more powerful engine . Previous La-5s (being the La-5 and the La-5F) used a carburettor instead of the direct fuel injection system in their engines.

Even though the airplane became heavier than La-5F, its flying characteristics increased because of the more powerful engine. Maximum speed at altitude of 5800m reached 610 km/h, and elevation time to reach an altitude of 5000m decreased almost by one minute. The appraisal of pilots Kubishkin and V.E.Golofastov stated that in piloting technique White-04 didn’t differ from the serial La-5. Control of the elevators was easy and the load from the ailerons normal. Despite the unsolved issue of increased heat inside the cockpit which was common to all La-5s, NII VVS gave the plane a positive review.

Air battle tests between La-5FN and a captured Messerschmitt BF-109G-2 (one of Luftwaffe’s best at that time) performed by the test pilots of NII VVS in 1943 revealed that below 5000m La-5FN had an advantage over the Messerschmitt in vertical maneuvers. When battling in horizontal planes La-5FN could position itself on the enemy’s tail in 4-5 turns.
The true battle test for the La-5FNs (though only a small number of them) came during the battles of Kursk where this latest Lavochkin modification came head to head with Luftwaffe’s latest Focke Wulf and Messerschmitt fighters and helped to achieve the eventual air superiority over the battlefield, showing the Germans that the Soviets possessed fighter planes which were able to match and in some ways even outperform Germany’s best.

In 1943, for the creation of this modernised La-5 variant, the main designer S.A.Lavochkin was awarded the title of Hero of the Socialist Labour, and a large group of employees of factory #21 (where ‘White-04’ and most other La-5FNs were built) were awarded with various awards and medals.’ [2]

Noteworthy Visual Characteristics

1. A logo made up of cyrillic letters ‘F’ and ‘N’ representing the La-5FN modification of the La-5 variant . The letter ‘F’ is derived from ‘Forsirovanniy’ which means forced/boosted and refers to an improved supercharger, and the letter ‘N’ is derived from ‘Neposredstvenniy’ which refers to the direct fuel injection system (as opposed to the one that used a carburetor in the previous models) in the new M-82FN engine of this La-5 modification.
The letters ‘FN’ in this series-01 airplane are contained within a circle as opposed to what became the classic FN logo with the letters contained within a rhombus as can be seen here https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2803940156351068&set=pb.100002053323013.-2207520000..&type=3

2. Note the arrangement of the locks. This arrangement can only be seen on some of the very early La-5FNs. The two front locks are as per the positioning of the locks on the La-5F models and the positioning of the two back locks is unique to the very early La-5FNs.

3. The vents in the heat protection panels are still those of the La-5F model.

4. The air intake is located higher than usual.

5. The canopy was probably slightly convex which seems to be common on the earlier versions of La-5Fs and La-5FNs.

6. The side panels are curved. It’s not known to me if all series-01 machines had curved panels or just White-04. Either way, this is the only Lavochkin I have seen with panels of this shape.

7. The radio is positioned differently to other La-5FNs. It’s probably some sort of experimental radio positioning which was decided against in all the later series airplanes, because I have not seen it on any other La-5FNs.

8. The technical markings might have been yellow. This is based on the fact that the markings are darker than the ‘background’ white colour of the tactical number.

9. Note the antena arrangement. This arrangement is more common to the la-5F models, but can be seen on many early La-5Fn machines too, and even some of the later ones also.

10. The tail star appears to be moved forward, rather than being centered. Please refer to the detailed view below where I outlined the shapes of the stars based on what I could detect in the reference.

11. The serial number of this plane is 39210104, it appears on the tail and on the horizontal stabilisers.

12. The tailwheel seems to have a (leather?) hood covering the suspension mechanism. Also, note the colour of the metal parts, they appear to be quite dark and were probably grey (or even black?), as opposed to the usual AMT-7 blue. The wheel disks seem to be the same dark colour.

13. The antena mast has a slightly different shape to the usual antena masts of La-5Fs and FNs. It’s straighter all the way to it’s base.

14. The rails for the sliding part of the canopy are different to what is usually seen on La-5FNs. This part is better seen on the left side of the plane. I just indicated it on the right because the left was already quite cluttered with arrows. More can be seen in the closeup image below.
15. The lock on the moving part of the canopy is different to the most common lock of the standard La-5Fs and La-5FNs. The lock position of White-04 is as per the early models. This part is better seen on the left side of the plane. I just indicated it on the right because the left was already quite cluttered with arrows. More can be seen in the closeup image below.

16. The warning on the wheel shields reads ‘Не Вставать’ which loosely translates to ‘Don’t get up (on top of) ’ , as opposed to the more common ‘Не Становиться’ which translates to ‘Don’t stand on’.

17. The back of the propeller blades appear to be mostly unpainted and the tips of the blades look lighter than the body of the blade.

18. A thermometer. This device was often attached to the wings of test airplanes used by the NII VVS.

19. ‘White-04’ had trimmers on both , right and left, elevators. This was common on the early series La-5F and La-5FN planes.

Here are a few closeup images to help illustrate the points above. Full set of closeup images is On Patreon

FOOTNOTES

[1] NII VVS - ‘Nauchno-Ispitatelniy Institut Voenno Vozdushnih Sil’ - Research Institute of the Air Forces’ (Научно-испытательный институт Военно воздушных сил)

[2] Most of the info above was translated from the article in the ‘Modelist-Konstructor’ magazine’s ‘Aviacollection’ series, Part-1, by N. Kruglov, V. Kotelnikov, M. Orlov, 2018.



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Anton Petrov
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