After some unsuccessful jet fighter designs, the team of Lavochkin used on the 1948 flown La-168
a different design philosophy; the turbojet was in the tail, the air inlet in the nose, wings and tail unit
were swept by 37�20� and a copy of the british Rolls Royce Nene (the british government didn�t
already think in cold war categories and sold some modern Derwent and Nene turbojets to the CCCP,
which boosted the turbojet knowledge of the soviets, which weren�t successful in improving the
captured german turbojet technology).
The La-174 was nearly identical, but smaller and configured for the use of a Derwent-type turbojet.
Flight tests disclosed that the speed of the La-174 was only 6% less than that of the La-168 with
it�s much more powerful engine. The soviet production of Nene copies was reserved to the famous
MiG-15 (which later shocked the western world in the corean war, although it wasn�t easy to fly),
and so only the quantity production of the La-174 started as La-15. Soon the prototype of a
two-seat training version La-180 was completed and went into production as La-15UTI.
The La-15 and La-15UTI were the first soviet jet fighters with a full-hydraulic flight control system.
The La-15 (NATO codename "Fantail") stayed in soviet service until 1954, about 500 were built
(other sources say that there were 500 La-15UTI built and a unknown number of fighters).

My comment:
This plane was really great, especially because it�s so similar in it�s datas to the british leightweight
fighter Gnat, which entered service after these planes leaved it after many years of duty.
If anyone asked me for the ideal late 1940�s/early1950�s lightweight fighter design, I would show him this one.

I�ve found a great homepage about the russian aviation, where you can also find this plane. Here it is!

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