The laminated plywood construction of the LaGG series makes it more flame and damage resistant than the Yakovlevs. The I-16s and MiGs had somewhat similar construction but were more vulnerable.
As for fighting 109s when in a LaGG, I say avoid the fight in the first place if you can. The LaGG suffers every disadvantage in a fight against 109-Fs and beyond, though if flown competently against a less-than-ace or veteran AI 109-Es you have a fighting chance. If you have the initial altitude advantage then make a diving attack, but unless you outnumber the enemy, get the hell outta there after your run! Don't stick around. Now that you actually have some chance of losing the AI and bugging out I would do that and try to survive.
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