Military Model Scene

Title: Lavochkin La-5
Author: Dariusz Paduch
Publisher: Kagero
ISBN: 978-83-66673-97-7

Monograph 86 from Polish publishers Kagero, an 84-page soft-cover book, distributed in the UK by Casemate with history of the Russian Lavochkin La-5.
It begins with the development of the La-5FN and the work put into developing the power from the engine to improve performance. With this. and in addition to archive photos, there are a lot of diagrams from original manuals which give really great detail on many aspects of the airframe, and technical details of them produced at different factories. In the search for increased speed there is coverage of a proposed version with 'combined propulsion', fitting rocket/yet engines under the wings to add to the basic radial engine. Not a version I had heard of before. There are also detail of how the demand for 2-seat trainers led to local conversions of single seater fighter to increase the then of trainers available for use. There are reports of comparisons made by the Russians on the Fw 190 and by the German Luftwaffe on the Lz-5. As well as the Soviet use of the Lavochkin, there is coverage of their use by Czechoslovakian units, the only other country to operate the La-5. At the end of the book there are 4-pages, plus the back cover itself, with excellent colour profiles showing a mix of camouflage and markings which I think modellers will like.
Another super addition to this series by Kagero, lots of detail of the airframes themselves, plenty of archive images, and the text including both Russian and German reports on the aircraft which makes for interesting reading. Compared to other Russian aircraft types from the earlier war period, the La-5 marked a significant improvement in capability.
Thanks to Casemate UK. the distributors for the Kagero range, for our review copy.

Robin