The La-7 was the only Soviet all metal fighter and so wasn't the "one hit wonder" like the La-5.
The resin impregnated wings on Soviet aircraft with this building technique did have the well documented ability of shattering and splintering when taking even a single hit from a cannon shell.
I know that the Soviet pilots prized and apreciated the Hurricane and the P-40, though I'm not sure if they saw the joke with the next to useless P-39.
The recently recovered Finnish Buffalo, that was pulled out of a lake, BW-372 (actually appears in IL-2 Forgotten Battles as number 5) was involved in an airbattle with two Hurricanes and a single Mig-3 in a 3 onto 1 action.
The Buffalo out turned and downed both Hurricanes but suffered a fatal belly hit from the MIg-3 as it finished off the second Hurricane and this caused a fire.
The Finnish pilot out dived the Mig-3 and belly landed on a frozen lake, jumped out of the Buffalo and watched it immediately sink through the ice.
In 2004 the aircraft was recovered from the lake and has travelled to the US and back to Finland as work continues to restore it to flying condition.
There are still a lot of wrecks lost out in that area, as there are around Russia, just waiting to be found.
|
10-26-2009, 04:36 AM
Threaded Mode