The Projective Cover of the Trivial Module Over a Group Algebra of a Finite Group

We determine all finite groups G such that the Loewy length (socle length) of the projective cover P(k _G ) of the trivial kG-module k _G is four, where k is a field of characteristic p > 0 and kG is the group algebra of G over k, by using previous results and also the classification of finite simple groups. As a by-product we prove also that if p = 2 then all finite groups G such that the Loewy lengths of the principal block algebras of kG are four, are determined.