This series was followed by the Series 4, which had many improvements. The engine-mounted Berezin machine gun was replaced with a 20 mm ShVAK cannon. The starboard machine gun was deleted, it had a taller antenna mast, enlarged wing root intakes and an enlarged oil cooler intake.
This series was powered by a 1.200 hp Klimov M-105PA engine and during 1941 alone 2.463 LaGG-3s were manufactured, with 2.141 built after the factories were relocated east of the Urals because of the German invasion. The counterweight at the bottom of the rudder present in the Series 1, was deleted. In order to try and improve the performance, both fuel capacity and range were reduced.
This series was followed by series 8 which reduced the armament by deleting the two cowl-mounted ShKAS machine guns and standardizing the ShVAK cannon and one Berezin machine gun. The ShKAS machine guns were removed because they were considered extra dead weight as the 7.62 mm caliber weapons only caused minor damage to control surfaces, oil coolers and radiators of enemy aircraft. As the ShVAK cannons were not available everywhere, some aircraft had the VYa-23 23 mm cannon instead.
The series 11 was identical to the series 8 with the exception that it was modified as a ground attack aircraft. It was equipped with two wing-mounted D3-40 bomb racks and six RO-82 launch rails for RS-82 or RS-123 rockets. The bomb racks allowed a 50 kg (110 lb) such as the FAB-50 or additional fuel tanks. Like many other Soviet aircraft of the time, its landing gear could also be replaced with skies to be used during winter, but this decreased performance.
The series 23 introduced a minor modification to the rudder. It had an aerodynamic horn balance in front of the hinge line at the top.
The series 29 were powered by a Klimov M-105PF engine rated at 1.260 hp. The difference between PA and PF engines was that PA engine was rated at 4.000 m (13.123 ft) while the PF was rated at 2.700 m (8.858 ft) as the majority of aerial combat of the eastern front took place at altitudes below 2.700 m. Exhaust collector tube present in previous series was also deleted and replaced by three exhaust ports. This variant was also equipped with better RSI-4 radio gear. All those small improvements increased the LaGG-3's top speed by 31 km/h (19 mph) with a better rate of climb.
The Series 33 had just a minor upgrade as they only replaced the propeller with a new more modern one.
Series 34 was built in limited numbers and replaced the 20 mm ShVAK cannon with a 37 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 with only 20 rounds of ammo. It was intended to be an anti-tank variant and as such was introduced during the Battle of Stalingrad. However it failed as the extra weight of the cannon shifted the centre of balance forward and the recoil damaged the engine.
The series 35 was basically a series 33 with automatic leading-edge slats on the outer wings to improve handling. It was also equipped with a retractable tail wheel and an enlarged radiator. The retractable tail wheel was, however, retrofitted to some older models.
The series 66 was the last mass-produced variant before production lines were switched to the Lavochkin La-5. The series 66 had four exhaust stacks, short antenna, new windscreen, reshaped radiator and a reshaped oil cooler. This variant was the fastest of the LaGG-3 at 591 km/h (367 mph) and thanks to its lighter weight, it had the best maneuverability and climb rate of all LaGG-3s, however, it arrived late in the eastern front (1943) and was outperformed by the Yakovlev fighters and German aircraft such as the Messerschmitt Bf.109F & G and the Focke-Wulf Fw.190.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov_LaGG-3
2. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 163 - LaGG Fighters in Action
3. https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/lagg3/lagg3.html
4. https://www.valka.cz/Lavockin-LaGG-3-t41330
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