[KOREAN-WAR-L:11422] Re: Russian La7, La 9 and La11

[Joe Brennan <jbren1@optonline.net>]

The hit on the Inchon gas dump has been credited in NK propaganda sources to
their hero female (presumably Po-2) pilot Thae Son-Hui, though they don't
give a date in the account, mentioning only her 1951 exploits by date.

But La fighters do seem to have been used as night raiders. All 5 victories
of the USN night ace Guy Bordelon are officially described as Po-2 or Yak-18
(low powered monoplane trainer) but Bordelon himself later insisted the
first two were Yak-18's but the last three were La-9's or La-11's (obviously
virtually impossible to distinguish in a combat encounter at night).

And Igor Seidov in the Mir Aviatsii article "On Guard for Peace and Labor"
about the KPAFAC which Cookie translated awhile back says the KPAFAC 56th
Fighter Regiment (which still exists btw) flew La-9's and -11's in later
night raids. He suggests PLAAF La units did too, though I'd say Seidov's
info on Soviet allied ops has to be treated with some caution, a shame since
there's so little such info to begin with.

Mike O'Connor in his article "Coping with Charlie" in AAHS journal back in
1985 described the June 16/17, '53 raid which blew up the fuel dump as 15
a/c total against the Seoul/Inchon area, a mixture of Po-2, Yak-18 and
La-11. Those spring 1953 raids differed markedly from earlier one's in that
respect at least, lots more raiders relatively in contrast to the small
handfuls of the '51 raids.

Joe
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Love Shack" <Home@DanSources.com>
To: <KOREAN-WAR-L@listproc.cc.ku.edu>
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2004 12:12 PM
Subject: [KOREAN-WAR-L:11416] Russian La7, La 9 and La11


> Picked up this statement reading about the LA-9..
>
> >From 1946 the La-9 was quickly seen in the USSR and East Germany and
> acquired the NATO reporting name 'Fritz'. Production amounted to 1,630
> units. A UTI version rapidly followed. Examples were also operated by
> Chinese and North Korean units. Although the age of the piston fighter was
> in decline at the outbreak of the Korean War, the La-9 served in combat
had
> had some notable successes. Like opposing piston aircraft, many were
turned
> to ground attack and on June 17, 1953 La-9s participating in a 'Bed Check
> Charlie' raid on Inchon harbour succeeded in destroying fuel tanks
> containing some five million gallons of fuel.
>
> Did the Russians, Chinese, NK utilize these planes more then our history
is
> telling us?
>
> Dan Fahey
>