Yakovlev's Yak-9 was a development of the line of Russian
fighters that started with the Yak-1, evolved into the Yak-3, and reached
maturity with the Yak-9. Like other Russian fighters, it was designed for mass
production and durability. It offered little in new technology and, due to
chronic Soviet shortages, incorporated a minimum of scarce strategic
materials, especially in the earlier models. Soviet fighters of the era,
including the Yak-9, were designed to achieve numerical rather than technical
superiority.
The Yak-9 had an excellent
(small) sustained turning diameter at low
speeds, which allowed it to turn inside of the
German fighters it faced. It could also turn
inside of most of the famous American fighters
of the war, including the P-38, P-47, and P-51.
The Bf 109 had a slightly superior turn rate,
but a larger turning diameter. This means that a
Yak-9 could usually get inside of an opponent in
a sustained turn. By all reports it was also a
durable fighter, capable of absorbing a lot of
battle damage and still making it home. It was
also a successful ground attack fighter.
On the debit side, compared
to most other contemporary fighters, the Yak-9
is relatively slow, climbs poorly, and performs
poorly at high altitude. It was a short-range
fighter (combat radius of most models was
similar to that of the Bf 109), and not
particularly well armed.
The Yak-9 entered service in
October 1942, and subsequent versions remained
in service with the Soviet Air Force and later
its client states (including Poland, Hungary,
China, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria), into the early
1950's. The Yak-9 first made its presence felt
during the Battle of Stalingrad in early 1942.
The first production Yak-9s
had wooden wings with metal spars, and a mixed
construction fuselage with a molded plywood
skin. Power came from a liquid cooled "Vee"
engine, the M-105PF, rated at approximately
1,100 hp. Armament consisted of one 20mm cannon
firing through the center of the propeller boss,
and one 12.7mm (.50 caliber) machine gun firing
through the engine cowling. The Yak-9 could also
carry six rockets or two 220-pound bombs.
By February of 1943,
the Yak-9M was in production. This standard
version was armed with one 20mm cannon and two
.50 cal. machine guns, all concentrated in the
nose of the airplane. The wingspan was reduced,
and the ribs were made of lightweight duralumin.
The engine was upgraded to the 1,240 hp.
M-105PF-3. The Yak-9MPVO was a night fighter
variant equipped with a searchlight and a radio
compass.
The Yak-9T was an
anti-armor, ground attack version that entered
service early in 1943. It was usually armed with
a 32mm or 37mm cannon and had wing racks for 5.5
pound anti-personnel bomblets in special
containers. Later in 1943 came the limited
production Yak-9K, which featured a 45mm cannon.
The Yak-9B was
another limited production version, this time a
light bomber variant with internal stowage for
up to four 220-pound bombs in a bay behind the
pilot. The Yak-9D, introduced in the summer of
1943, was a longer-range escort fighter version
carrying additional fuel in two outer wing panel
tanks, and an optional tank under the cockpit.
Production of the
Yak-9 continued into 1947 and a staggering total
of 16,769 were built. China received Yak-9P
fighters from the USSR after the Communist
take-over, and supplied some to North Korea,
where they were used against NATO forces at the
beginning of the Korean War. Some were shot down
by American P-51s.
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