Greetings from
Colombia!
Developed from the disappointing LaGG-3,
the Lavochkin La-5 was one of the great fighters of World War II. It
shared the earlier machine's wooden construction, but the new radial
engine gave it vastly superior performance. The La-5 and its successors
were amongst the best dogfighters of the war, especially at low level and
were flown by most leading Soviet pilots including Ivan Kozhedub, the
Allied 'ace of aces'.
As the Soviet armies reeled back from the
German invasion of 1941, there were frantic demands for the Soviet air
force to be re-equipped with modern fighters. In Oct 1941, Semyon
Lavochkin began work on an improved version of the heavy LaGG-3 fighter.
The ensuing La-5, equipped with a powerful radial engine and cut-down rear
fuselage, entered production in July 1942 and more than 1000 were built by
the end of the year.
The first large-scale use of the La-5 came
in 1942 over Stalingrad. Here and at Kursk the following year, it proved
to be a ferocious dogfighter, especially at low level. The lightweight
La-5FN appeared that year and was flown by many top Soviet aces.
The La-7 of 1944 had more power and many
minor improvements, making it one of the most effective fighters of the
war.
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images below to see larger images
As says the
ballad, "give me a kiss and say good-bye", it is what one lives
in the wing of this Lavochkin, his pilot says goodbye of a nurse
(Medcestra in Russian), putting prow to the horizon.
But about this
romantic scene there are other prominent figures, such as the colonel who
goes out of the kitchen-dining room and the cook, that absorbed in your
thoughts they do not notice the farewell...
The model is Revell, very good
detail and easily to arm (assemble), few modifications did him, with the
exception of 2 bottles of air that go after the chair of the pilot and the
pocket of maps. The figures are Revell too and come from a kit of Soviet troops
that accompany a T-34, the cook comes from a kit of tankers of RAF to whom the
apron was done and they put on the knife and the thorn. The deer is a plastic
figure that I found thereabouts and that used as perfect victim!
I did the scene with domestic
materials, inclusive the tent - infirmary was done by blotting paper and rod
of injection! Gratefullness to aircraftaces.com
for the history of La-5FN.
Greetings from Colombia, the land
of Juan Valdez!
Saludos desde Colombia, la tierra
de Juan Valdez!
Tigre del Aire
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images below to see larger images
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