Lavochkin La-250
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2008) |
La-250 | |
---|---|
La-250A at Central Air Force Museum at Monino | |
Role | Interceptor |
Manufacturer | Lavochkin |
First flight | 16 July 1956 |
Status | Cancelled 1959 |
Primary user | Soviet Air Forces |
Number built | 5 |
The Lavochkin La-250 "Anakonda" was a high-altitude interceptor aircraft prototype developed in the Soviet Union by the Lavochkin design bureau in the 1950s. Its nickname "Anaconda" was invented during the flight test and referred to both the elongated body shape as well as the relatively critical flight characteristics of the machine.
Development
By the mid-1950s, it became obvious that subsonic cannon-armed fighters such as the
In November 1952, the Soviet government ordered development of Kompleks K-15 (Complex K-15, a notion analogous to
The first flight took place on 16 July 1956 by Andrei G. Kochetkov. Problems with the K-15U radar and Klimov VK-9 engines forced a radical redesign of the aircraft to use the K-15M radar and, more importantly, much less powerful Lyulka AL-7F engines. This, in turn, led to the need to change "275" missiles to the lighter "275A" (although total missile weight decreased to 800 kilograms (1,800 lb), the warhead actually grew to 140 kilograms (310 lb)). The new airframe with a smaller fuselage and a delta wing instead of the earlier swept wing was designated La-250A. The "275" missiles were now carried on underwing pylons. The lighter airframe was not enough to overcome the weaker engines, and projected performance suffered compared to La-250. While busy redesigning the aircraft, Lavochkin OKB also had to develop new variants of the "275" missile - the
Test flights of the five prototypes were plagued by crashes caused by failures of the hydraulic boost system and landing gear as well as poor forward visibility (the latter was corrected with fitting of a new slightly "drooped" nose). La-250A made a single test flight in 1956, only 6 flights in 1957, and a mere 14 flights in 1958. Frustrated by the lack of progress, Soviet Air Force stopped all work on the K-15 system in 1959. Lessons learned with K-15 were used to develop new interceptor system requirements which led to the Tupolev Tu-28 interceptor.
Surviving aircraft
One of Lavochkin La-250A prototypes is on display at the Central Air Force Museum at Monino, outside of Moscow, Russia.[1]
Specifications (La-250A)
Data from [2]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 26.8 m (87 ft 11 in)
- Wingspan: 13.9 m (45 ft 7 in)
- Height: 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in)
- Wing area: 79.916 m2 (860.21 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 18,989 kg (41,864 lb)
- Gross weight: 24,500 kg (54,013 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 27,500 kg (60,627 lb)
- Fuel capacity: 8,700 kg (19,180 lb) internal ; 9,700 kg (21,385 lb) with 1,350 L (360 US gal; 300 imp gal) drop tank
- Powerplant: 2 × afterburning turbojetengines, 73.55 kN (16,535 lbf) thrust each dry, 98.06 kN (22,045 lbf) with afterburner
Performance
- Maximum speed: 1,700–1,800 km/h (1,100–1,100 mph, 920–970 kn) clean
- 1,600 km/h (990 mph; 860 kn) at 12,000 m (39,000 ft) with missiles fitted
- Landing speed: 225 km/h (140 mph; 121 kn) at 12,000 m (39,000 ft) and 1,000 km/h (620 mph; 540 kn)
- On-station loiter: 2 hours 18 minutes
- Range: 2,000 km (1,200 mi, 1,100 nmi) [citation needed]
- Service ceiling: 17,000 m (56,000 ft)
- Time to altitude: 12,000 m (39,000 ft) 2 minutes 50 seconds
- Wing loading: 306 kg/m2 (63 lb/sq ft) [citation needed]
- Thrust/weight: 0.41[citation needed]
Armament
- Missiles: 2 × Air-to-air missiles on underwing pylons, either "275," "277," "279," or "280." (see text for description)
Avionics
K-15 weapon system
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- F-101 Voodoo
- F-106 Delta Dart
Related lists
Sources
- Kopenhagen, W (ed.), Das große Flugzeug-Typenbuch, Transpress, 1987, ISBN 3-344-00162-0
- Ла-250 Анаконда – Уголок неба. 2008
- ^ [1] Monino home page
- ISBN 1857801911.