| LaGG-3 | |
|---|---|
 A LaGG-3 before take off | |
| General information | |
| Type | Fighter |
| National origin | Soviet Union |
| Designer | Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov V. P. Gorbunov (Designer) |
| Built by | 21 (Gorky), 31 (Taganrog/Tbilisi), 23/153 (Leningrad/Novosibirsk) |
| Primary user | Soviet Union |
| Number built | 6,528 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1941–1944 |
| Introduction date | early 1941 |
| First flight | 28 March 1940 |
| Retired | 1944 |
| Developed from | LaGG-1 |
| Developed into | Lavochkin La-5 |
The Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 (Лавочкин-Горбунов-Гудков ЛаГГ-3) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a refinement of the earlier LaGG-1 and was one of the most modern aircraft available to the Soviet Air Force at the time of Germany's invasion in 1941. Compared to its opponents the LaGG-3 was underpowered and, despite its wooden construction, overweight. It was unpopular with Soviet pilots, but despite this, at one point in the war, on average 12 LaGG-3s were being completed daily and 6,528 had been built in total when production switched to the Yak-3 in 1944.[1] The LaGG-3 was steadily improved, forming the basis for the more successful La-5 and La-7.
- ^ Wheeler, Barry C. (1994). Military Aircraft Markings : The Hamlyn Guide To. London: Chancellor Press an imprint of Reed Consumer Books Limited. p. 73. ISBN 1-85152-582-3.