I don’t know much about WWII Russian fighters. I’d love to have at least one kit that represents the red star in the sky. I’m reading “Stuka Pilot” by Hans Rudel and it seems that La-5’s were always chasing him. So is the La-5 considered the most iconic? The Zvezda 1/48 kit looks pretty nice.
I’m no VVS expert, but from everything I’ve read on Russian fighters, it was a toss up between the Lavochkin La-7 and the Yakovlev Yak 9. Both were 400 plus mph fighters that even had some Me 262 kills. I believe the La-7 was an upgraded 5. In 1/48th scale, both kits are unfortunately neglected. ICM makes a Yak 9, which is mediocre at best. Eduard reboxed the old Gavia kit which I think is average at best, even with all the extra Profipack goodies. I started building the latter and eventually tossed it back in the box. I would go with the Zvezda Yak-3 or La-5 for now. I hear their really nice kits. Maybe someone will eventually step up and give us some decent examples of these important fighters.
Joe
Not too sure on the most iconic fighter as I don’t think there was one type that was head and shoulders above the others for the Russians. But I would definitely say the most iconic Russian aircraft of WWII would be the Il-2 Sturmovik which apparently the Tamiya kit is quite nice… If you’re willing to fork out for it.
My thoughts exactly,for some reason when people talk about WWII fighters,it’s always P-51,P-47,ME109,Spitfire,Zero.I have never seen a Russian fighter mentioned in the same conversation.I don’t know,they must have had some good ones,Do any of their fighters equal or surpass any of the more popular ones everybody knows.
Possibly due to Cold War politics,they never got any ink ? not sure.
i always thought the Russians were particulary fond of the Bell P-39 Airacobra. [:)]
“I liked the Cobra, especially the Q-5 version. It was the lightest version of all Cobras and was the best fighter I ever flew. The cockpit was very comfortable, and visibility was outstanding. The instrument panel was very ergonomic, with the entire complement of instruments right up to an artificial horizon and radio compass. It even had a relief tube in the shape of a funnel. The armored glass was very strong, extremely thick. The armor on the back was also thick. The oxygen equipment was reliable, although the mask was quite small, only covering the nose and mouth. We wore that mask only at high altitude. The HF radio set was powerful, reliable and clear.”
Soviet pilot Nikolai G. Golodnikov, recalling his experiences of the P-39
The VVS was definately more successful with the P-39 than the Allies were. Its ground attack and low altitude capablitites suited the Russian style of air warfare perfectly. I don’t know about it being the most Iconic Russian fighter as it wasn’t a Russian design. I’d agree with others and say it was the Yak 9 or La-7. They both continued on Post-war and the Yak 9 even saw service in Korea. The Yak 3 was more manuverable and maybe just as fast but the Yak 9 saw more variants and I think more were produced. Tojo you’re absolutely right about the Cold war curtain not helping the notoriety of these iconic russian fighters as most documents and info on them was not available to the world just just a decade or 2 ago. As far as kits go, it seems Zvezda’s La 5s seem to get build the most, they really are right up there Tamiya and Hasegawa quality.
I was mentioning the P-39 in a tongue-in-cheek way. I didn’t actually mean to imply that it was a homegrown Russian fighter. And, contrary to most impressions, it was not used primarily as a ground attack aircraft. The type did serve with the USSR until 1949.
Well, depends!
I’ll go with Blitzwing on the Il-2 which was produced in greater numbers than any other Soviet aircraft but it’s of course a ground attack plane and not an air to air combat fighter.
The Polikarpov I-16 Rata series were probably the most common and typical fighter of the early war but were cannon fodder in most cases to Luftwaffe aircraft.
IMHO the La-5 and La-7 were the most attractive of Soviet designs. And both were generally superior to the Bf-109 and Fw-190 at low attitude.
I was watching a documentary the other day that said the IL-2 was produced in more numbers than any plane EVER (and I think that’s right…over 30,000).
The same program spoke very highly of the Yak-9.
I wanted to get a VVS fighter. So I’ll order a Zvezda La-5. It’s the most attractive looking WWII Russian fighter AFAIC. I’ll end up with ordering a Tamiya Il-2, too. IMO, the Sturmovik looks like a gigantic moth.
I would have to say that the IL series could be argued as the poster boy for most symbolic WWII Russian aircraft. As others stated it was produced in massive numbers. I also recall seeing it’s image in countless documental video footage and photos. The Germans feared it with good reason. It destroyed countless irreplaceable tanks in many of the prominent battles and was a B#$&# [;)] to shoot down, hence it’s nick name the flying tank. The Russians keenly aware of this incorporated it into their propaganda films. Ironically , today I was in a local book store were I came across a book documenting the Battle or Stalingrad. In it was a pic of a IL early version being disassembled for transportation and technical scrutiny by German techs. The previous mentioned aircraft I mean not to demean , many were equal if not superior to their contemporaries. It just seems to me that the IL2 for what ever reason got the most coverage. There’s even a best selling video game named after the Il2.
Well, the original Il-2 game is a complex flight simulation. The developer has spun off several video games using its flight engine. I bought a HOTAS to play the original simulation. It was like actually learning how to fly. It’s a great simulation. I flew only the Bf-109, the Fw-190 and the Ju-87. It took a long time to be able to competently fly these planes. Yet, I crashed numerous times when landing in a Bf-109 and was never good at dive-bombing. I plan to reinstall it to fly a few VVS planes.
It’s not that iconic compared to the Il-2, but the MiG-3 is a good looking fighter.
Sturmovik. PERIOD! 
Guys,the original question was Iconic FIGHTER. But without a doubt IL-2 qualifies as most iconic A/C
Getting off subject a bit, I used to play the PC game called Il-2 Sturmovick and it was a lot of fun to play. You can fly the P-39, Yak-9, etc… and dogfight the 109s and 190s and maybe a couple of Me 262 jet fighters. The Sturmovick is no doubt a tank in its own right. Try dodging the Germans in an Il-2 LOL!
Back to the subject - I’m planning on buying the Sturmovick model in the near future. Looks like a fun build.
Well, a number of fighters were used as unlimited racers and if that were used as a measure, the LA5(7) is the only one of the Russian fighters that made it into the racing scene that I know of. An unorthodox measure at best.
Yeah guess we did[:$]
If you’re talking about a fighter the answer is pretty easy - the LA5. All Soviet fighters had crude controls, second rate radios and dicey ballistics on the canon. But in terms of performance below 15,000 feet the LA-5 was nearly as fast and considerably more nimble than any German fighter from early 43-late 44. Once the Soviets gained the initiative on the ground at Kursk (when the Soviet aircraft showed quite well) they were able to determine where the air war would be fought. They chose low altitude because Soviet attack planes were all tactical - the IL2 being the most common. (The MIG fighters of mid-war were respectable but found little to do being the only Soviet fighter designed for high altitude. Same factor made the introduction of the P-63 “King” Cobra less important than it would have been otherwise.) When the Soviet air armies were able to support an attack en masse they created an agonizing problem for the LW. The Soviets would send a cloud of fighters to support their IL2s or medium bombers (they had two pretty good ones) for low level attack. The LW could stay high and pick off planes here or there - but that left the Wehrmacht wide open for attack. (The feeling of betrayal on the part of German ground troops toward the LW on both fronts is rarely given the historical coverage it deserves. At the time, the LW was very conscious of the fact that German infantry considered them worthless by 1944.) If German fighters came down to dance, they were invariably outnumbered and once they began to bleed energy and speed nimble Soviet fighters like the LA5 hurt them badly. No accident that the P-39, handicapped in US eyes because of miserable range and very poor performance over 12,000 feet, did nicely in the Ost. It was a nimble and powerful aircraft in a low level scrap. The Yak9 also was a good aircraft but lacked firepower of the LA5. (No small matter because all Soviet aircraft were also expected to strafe - this was another reason that the P-39 did well out there. The armament was odd but it could put a lot of lead in the air with the rifle caliber machine guns. While the P39 was the top dog in Lend Lease the Soviets made wide use of Hurricanes, Spitfires and P-40s. Altogether nearly 30% of Soviet fighters were Lend Lease by late 44.) All Soviet fighters were rugged and reliable in the most basic ways even if unfriendly to the pilots in terms of comfort, temperature etc. In mid-44 the LA7 and Yak3s started to show up and were superior planes. But the LA5s and Yak7s did the heavy lifting when they were needed and outnumbered the superior planes until the end. The LA5 and LA7 are very striking planes with a kind of lethal look to them. And because the LA7 was so widely used in Warsaw Pact forces through the 50s it is one of the most common of the flying warbirds today. Zvezda does a LA5 - it’s a challenging build. Eduard and Academy make LA7s and Eduard does a Yak 9. Personally I find the LA5/7 to have much more pleasing lines.
Eric
Good write up Eric. As far as firepower goes, don’t forget about the Yak 9t with the 37mm cannon firing through the prop, and the yak 9k with the 45mm cannon, which wasn’t as successful due to the large recoil effects. But generall speaking Most Soviet a/c were underarmed, espicially the early Yaks. But the shVAK machine guns did have the highest rate of fire out of any nation during the war.