Another wooden wonder from Russia during the Great Patriotic War (W.W.II), the Lavochkin LA-5/-7/-9 were developed from the mediocre LaGG-3.  By grafting the potent Shvetsov M.82 radial engine onto an airframe being held back by the previous inline engine, a fine aircraft was born.

The 1700 HP twin-row engine turned the LA-5 into a very capable fighter.  The later LA-5FN also included a cut down rear fuselage to improve rearward visibility.  The LA-7 was a further refinement with 1850 HP, and would be the final version to be primarily constructed of wood.  Ivan Kozhedub (62 kills and 3-time winner of the Hero of the Soviet Union (HSU) claimed an Me-262 kill flying an LA-7.

The LA-9 was metal and, though possessing s definite family resemblance was an entirely new design, including a laminar flow wing and cockpit pressurization.  The Lavochkin aircraft served well beyond the end of W.W.II and into the 50s.  There is a flying example of the LA-9 brought back from extinction by the New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum (White 28).