Lavochkin La-15

what is it?

The Lavochkin La-15 (Plant 21 product code Izdeliye 52, USAF reporting name Type 21, NATO reporting name Fantail) is an early Soviet jet fighter and a contemporary of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 which was in service with the Soviet Air Force from 1949 till 1953.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 jet engine · shoulder wing · 8.8 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 1,007 km/htop speed
• range 1,145 kmwithout refuelling
• size 3,850 kgmax take-off weight
• built 235made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 78 years ago, in 1948.
• 🏎️Top speed is 7.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🌍Range of 1,145 km: 6× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.5× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1948-01-08

introduced

1949

retired

1953

status

retired

number built

235

role

fighter

origin

🇷🇺 Soviet Union

makers

NPO Lavochkin

engines

1× Klimov RD-500 / RB.37 Derwent

crew

1

length

9.6 m

wingspan

8.8 m

height

3.8 m

max take-off weight

3,850 kg

top speed

1,007 km/h

range

1,145 km

ceiling

13,500 m

wings

shoulder wing

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.