It was unpopular with Soviet pilots, but despite this, at one point in the war, on average 12 LaGG-3s were being completed daily and 6,528 had been built in total when production switched to the Yak-3 in 1944.

The design was approved for production in January 1940 and in the prototype's name the I- prefix stood for istrebitel (Russian: истребитель, lit.

This novel construction material had tensile strength comparable to that of non-hardened aluminum alloys and only 30% lower than that of precipitation hardened D-1A grade duralumin.

It was also incombustible and completely invulnerable to rot, with service life measured in decades in adverse conditions.

During production of the prototype, it was discovered that the adhesive used in delta wood caused skin irritation and safety procedures needed to be devised for workers.

The I-301 used a Klimov M-105P engine of 780 kW (1,050 hp) a licensed derivative of the Hispano-Suiza HS 12Y with a two-speed two-stage supercharger.

Later, the I-301 reached 604 km/h (375 mph) at 4,950 m (16,250 ft) with its radiator doors shut making it the fastest M-105P powered aircraft.

[2] As reports of these problems came back to Lavochkin's Experimental Design Bureau (OKB) in February 1941 no less than 2,228 modifications were ordered to be introduced into the series.

[4] Actually, despite the military's doubts, the Soviet government ordered 66 series of the Lavochkin fighter, which underwent a host of successive improvements in engines, propeller, and armament.

However, the laminated wooden panels did tend to shatter when hit by high explosive rounds and Soviet pilots nicknamed the plane Lakirovanny Garantirovanny Grob (Russian: Лакированный Гарантированный Гроб), or "guaranteed varnished coffin".

... [P]ilots didn't like flying the LaGG-3 – a heavy beast with a weak ... engine... [T]hey got used to it ... [but] we had higher losses on LaGG-3 than on I-16s.

[6] Experiments with fitting a Shvetsov M-82 radial engine to the LaGG-3 airframe finally solved the power problem and led to the Lavochkin La-5 and La-7.

[7] Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II[14]General characteristics Performance Armament Guns: External stores: