aircraft/loadout PLAAF Lavochkin La-11: Filling a Gap

[Z3r0_ 4,127]

 

The La-11 needs no introduction to people who've played the game for long enough.  It was a plane sold in a pack in the Gaijin store for the Soviets before being removed from the game, presumably due to low sales.  However, a lot of people missed out on getting it, and as it turns out, the Chinese used their La-11s for longer than the Soviets did, at least in combat.  Couple that with the fairly large gap in the Japanese/Soviet fighter branch, and I think that we have a candidate to help fill it.

 

In a nutshell, the La-11 was an escort fighter variant of the La-9 produced after World War II, as the USSR's belated answer to the P-51 Mustang; while then-new jet fighters did offer better performance, their inferior fuel economy to piston-engined designs made them unsuitable for long range bomber escort or prolonged combat air patrol, so there was still a niche role for planes like this in the late 40s and early 50s.  It sacrificed one of the La-9's cannons in exchange for extra fuel capacity and a number of various quality of life improvements to make the pilot more comfortable on long flights, a rare consideration made in Soviet designs.

As for its combat history, while the Soviets did use them a few times in skirmishes against American and ROCAF aircraft, the primary user of the plane was the PRC's PLAAF (not in terms of numbers, as the Soviets had around eight or nine times as many La-11s in operational service, but in terms of combat usage).  The Chinese received 168 of these planes from the Soviet Union, and were first used by them in 1950, primarily over the Korean Peninsula at first.  They were used as escort fighters for the People's Volunteer Army's Tu-2 bombers and as night fighters to counter the USAF's A-26 Invader, which wreaked havoc on Chinese and North Korean supply lines and bases at night.  While capable of barely catching B-29s at altitude, these were generally left to other fighters with superior performance, such as the MiG-15, instead.  Following the ceasefire in Korea, PLAAF La-11s would contribute to defending the Chinese mainland from incursions by either genuine or merely perceived hostile aircraft, as well as skirmishes over the Strait of Taiwan against ROCAF P-51s and P-47Ns (among other aircraft types).  The final PLAAF La-11s were retired in 1966.

 

There's not much more to be said about the plane's performance in-game than what's already been observed: it tends to function, in practice, like a slightly worse La-9, and for that reason, it might not be a bad idea to place it BEFORE the La-9 on their Japanese/Soviet fighter branch at BR 5.3 (the same as the Soviet one), helping to fill in the massive gap between BRs 2.7 and 6.0 on that branch, though there is an argument to be made for having it be a premium aircraft as well.  There could also be unlockable North Korean livery for the plane too.

 

Specifications

Source: http://www.airpages.ru/eng/ru/la11.shtml

Crew: 1
Service Debut: 1947 (USSR), 1950 (PRC)

Length: 8.62 m (28 ft 3 in)

Wingspan: 9.80 m (32 ft 2 in)

Wing Area: 17.6 m² (189 ft²)

Wing Loading: 212 kg/m² (44 lb/ft²)

Height: 3.47 m (11 ft 5 in)

Weight: 2,770 kg (6,107 lb) Empty, 3,730 kg (8,223 lb) Loaded, 3,996 kg (8,810 lb)  Maximum Take-Off

Powerplant: 1x 1,380 kW (1,850 hp) ASh-82FN Air-Cooled Radial

P/W Ratio: 0.37 kW/kg (0.23 hp/lb)

 

Top Speed: 674 km/h (420 mph) at 6200 m (20,341 ft)

Time to 5 km: 6.6 minutes

Climb Rate: 758 m/min (2,486 ft/min)

Time to Turn: 24-25 seconds

Service Ceiling: 10,250 m (33,620 ft)

Range: 2,235 km (1,393 mi)

Armament: 3xNS-23 75 rounds/gun

 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavochkin_La-11

http://www.airpages.ru/eng/ru/la11.shtml

https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=651

http://www.aviastar.org/air/russia/la-11.php

Edited November 29, 2019 by Z3r0_

[SAUBER_KH7 3,326]

Open for Discussion.

[John_JIANG 126]

+1.

Placing this stuff after La-9 also make sense 

[Z3r0_ 4,127]

On 18/10/2019 at 19:41, John_JIANG said:

+1.

Placing this stuff after La-9 also make sense 

 

Perhaps, seeing as the La-11 was developed from the La-9.  However, the game rates the La-11 as worse than the La-9, as its advantage in range is pretty much completely irrelevant due to the game's design, resulting in a heavier, worse-armed La-9 with no real upside gained in return.  As a result, it'd have a lower BR...and right now there's a huge jump from an I-16 to the La-9, 2.7 to 6.0.  Putting this thing in thee at 5.3 helps to narrow that gap a bit, though there's still more that can be added to close it up (maybe the Yak-9P, or a couple of A6M variants).

Edited October 20, 2019 by Z3r0_

[John_JIANG 126]

2 minutes ago, Z3r0_ said:

 

Perhaps, seeing as the La-11 was developed from the La-9.  However, the game rates the La-11 as worse than the La-9, as its advantage in range is pretty much completely irrelevant due to the game's design.  As a result, it'd have a lower BR...and right now there's a huge jump from an I-16 to the La-9, 2.7 to 6.0.  Putting this thing in thee at 5.3 helps to narrow that gap a bit, though there's still more that can be added to close it up (maybe the Yak-9P, or a couple of A6M variants).

Sure, I mean planes do not need to have increasing BR's in the tech tree, like Tempest Mk V and Mk V Victers P, Mosquito FB Mk VI and Mk XVIII in British TT.

[Milocat 4,850]

I'd like to see this.  +1.

[Solarmod 1,203]

+1 for the tree. It's quite barren.

[AspandaIV 375]

+1 since the Chinese used them (arguably even more than the Russians), it would be recommended that the La-11 be a researchable aircraft since the La-11 didn't sell well as a premium in the Russian TT

[Z3r0_ 4,127]

15 hours ago, AspandaIV said:

+1 since the Chinese used them (arguably even more than the Russians), it would be recommended that the La-11 be a researchable aircraft since the La-11 didn't sell well as a premium in the Russian TT

 

That's part of why that's my take on how to implement this, besides the huge jump in BRs in the relevant branch of the tech tree, that this could help to narrow a bit.

 

Besides, there's other planes that could be made premiums instead of this thing, like a Ki-84 ko (a fair number of Ki-84s were made in the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo, which ended up in RoC stockpiles after Japan's surrender - they considered using them against the Communists in the resumed Chinese Civil War if the US cut off support for the Kuomintang, but that turned out not to be the case).

Edited October 20, 2019 by Z3r0_

[Solarmod 1,203]

On ‎19‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 22:27, Z3r0_ said:

 

Besides, there's other planes that could be made premiums instead of this thing, like a Ki-84 ko (a fair number of Ki-84s were made in the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo, which ended up in RoC stockpiles after Japan's surrender - they considered using them against the Communists in the resumed Chinese Civil War if the US cut off support for the Kuomintang, but that turned out not to be the case).

I had no idea that happened! Thanks for sharing!

[Z3r0_ 4,127]

On 22/10/2019 at 09:31, Solarmod said:

I had no idea that happened! Thanks for sharing!

 

On an unrelated note, turns out they're getting exactly that in the next patch (though to be fair, I was tipped off by the fact that files for the plane had already been found via data mining).

[Solarmod 1,203]

On 25/10/2019 at 19:02, Z3r0_ said:

 

On an unrelated note, turns out they're getting exactly that in the next patch (though to be fair, I was tipped off by the fact that files for the plane had already been found via data mining).

Ah yes, I am excited for it lol.

[Solarmod 1,203]

On ‎25‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 19:02, Z3r0_ said:

 

On an unrelated note, turns out they're getting exactly that in the next patch (though to be fair, I was tipped off by the fact that files for the plane had already been found via data mining).

Apparently not? I didn't see it?

[Z3r0_ 4,127]

On 29/10/2019 at 10:41, Solarmod said:

Apparently not? I didn't see it?

 

Look again, they've got a premium Ki-84 ko at rank 4.  It's kinda expensive, but considering how good the Ki-84 is, I'd recommend picking it up if you can.  Maybe wait to see if it'll be discounted in December or something first though.

[Solarmod 1,203]

11 hours ago, Z3r0_ said:

 

Look again, they've got a premium Ki-84 ko at rank 4.  It's kinda expensive, but considering how good the Ki-84 is, I'd recommend picking it up if you can.  Maybe wait to see if it'll be discounted in December or something first though.

I thought you said the La-11 was in the files  I'm dumb.

 

Big dumb babby is me. I can read words yes.

[Borotovas 4,500]

+1

 

This aircraft would be very useful for filling in the gaps in the Chinese tech tree.

[Borotovas 4,500]

I think that this is a PLAAF La-11, which is still around today.

 

[Z3r0_ 4,127]

On 21/05/2020 at 10:58, Borotovas said:

I think that this is a PLAAF La-11, which is still around today.

 

 

Yep, that's an La-11 alright, though not in the best condition admittedly.

[Borotovas 4,500]

7 hours ago, Z3r0_ said:

Yep, that's an La-11 alright, though not in the best condition admittedly.

 

I think this is the same plane as well. It looks like it was restored. But I think the museum made a mistake with the green on the bottom - shouldn't it be blue or white?

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by Borotovas

[Z3r0_ 4,127]

4 hours ago, Borotovas said:

 

I think this is the same plane as well. It looks like it was restored. But I think the museum made a mistake with the green on the bottom - shouldn't it be blue or white?

 

 

I'm not all that familiar with PLAAF markings, but I think you might be right.  A sky blue underside seems to be more common, but then again, every once in a while you see deviations from regulation even in totalitarian nations.

[Borotovas 4,500]

14 minutes ago, Z3r0_ said:

I'm not all that familiar with PLAAF markings, but I think you might be right.  A sky blue underside seems to be more common, but then again, every once in a while you see deviations from regulation even in totalitarian nations.

 

This is the previous camo 09 was wearing, and it was all white. 

 

[Z3r0_ 4,127]

On 04/06/2020 at 15:54, Borotovas said:

 

This is the previous camo 09 was wearing, and it was all white. 

 

 

You'd posted the same image twice.

[Borotovas 4,500]

14 hours ago, Z3r0_ said:

You'd posted the same image twice.

 

Here's a better picture of 09. You can see it was all white/gray, before it was painted green. I think the all-white/gray paint scheme was original.

 

[leroyonly 4,310]

As the PLAAF La-11 has been implemented with update 2.13 Winged Lions,

 

Moved to Implemented Suggestions.