The first documented combat use of La-11 took place on April 8, 1950, when four Soviet pilots shot down a
United States Navy Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer over the
Baltic Sea, with all 10 of the Privateer's crew lost. Later the same year, two La-11 pilots shot down a USN
Lockheed P2V Neptune over the Sea of Japan near Vladivostok; one USN crew member was killed. From February 1950, the Soviet
106th Fighter Aviation Division moved to
Shanghai to defend it against bombing by the
ROCAF. The division included the 351st Fighter Regiment, equipped with the La-11. On March 7, the regiment claimed a
North American B-25 Mitchell bomber, shot down near
Nanjing. On March 14, 1950, a
Martin B-26 Marauder bomber was claimed in
Xuzhou. On March 20, 1950, five La-11 pilots encountered a group of
North American P-51 Mustangs north-west of Shanghai, although the P-51 pilots immediately retreated. On April 2, 1950, two P-51s were claimed by La-11 pilots over Shanghai. After that,
MiG-15s of the Soviet 29th Fighter Regiment took over the air defence role. The ROCAF stopped bombing Shanghai that June and the Soviet units left in October 1950. By July
1950, La-11s were flying
combat air patrol missions over
North Korea. On November 30, 1951, 16 La-11 fighter pilots of the 4th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Chinese
People's Volunteer Army (PVA) were escorting 9
Tu-2 PVA bombers to bomb the South Korean island of
Taehwa-do (대화도/大和島), in the
Pansong archipelago. They were attacked by more than 30
F-86 fighters of the
United States Air Force. While PVAF lost 4 bombers, 15 crew, and 3 La-11s to the USAF, this battle also marked the very first propeller fighter victory over jet fighters for the Chinese and Xu Huaitang received a Battle Award, 1st Class for his victory over Taehwa-do Island. The PLAAF claim four F-86s shot down in this engagement, however in reality, no F-86s were lost by the USAF although one was slightly damaged. One MiG-15 was also shot down by the American fighters in this battle. The main target of La-11 pilots during the
Korean War was the Douglas
A-26 Invader night bomber, although numerous skirmishes with P-51s also took place. Attempts to intercept Boeing
B-29 Superfortress bombers proved fruitless. An La-11 required 26 minutes to reach the B-29's cruising altitude, and, once there, had a speed advantage of only 20 km/h (12 mph). On July 23, 1954, a
Douglas C-54 Skymaster military transport aircraft, registration
VR-HEU, operated by
Cathay Pacific Airways on a civilian passenger flight en route from
Bangkok to
Hong Kong, was shot down by two La-11 fighters of the 85th Fighter Regiment,
People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) off the coast of
Hainan Island, killing 10 people in an incident that has become known as the
1954 Cathay Pacific Douglas DC-4 shootdown. Although the four-engined propeller-driven Douglas (registered
VR-HEU) was a C-54 Skymaster, the incident is known as "the DC-4 shootdown" because the C-54 is the military version of the
Douglas DC-4, and the aircraft was flying a commercial passenger run. Three days later, near the same location, two La-11s of the same unit were shot down by 2
AD-4 airplanes of the
US Navy. During 1954–55, La-11 fighters of the PLAAF took part in the
Battle of Yijiangshan Islands escorting the ships of the
People's Liberation Army Navy and
Tu-2 bombers. ==Operators==